Lady America
by noorwrites
Summary: Marty Barnes has always wanted to join the army, but being a woman she knew she couldn't. That is until she receives a letter from the army informing her that her brother, Bucky, has been killed. This drives Marty to disguising herself as a man and enlisting. Her secret is safe until none other than Steve Rogers finds out. Also, HYDRA have a secret of their own. Steve/OC
1. The Letter

_***This story starts off a few weeks before Steve goes to Austria and saves Bucky along with the other 400 men after his show in Italy. I will be using most of the movie plot, but much of it will be original. Also Marty's Face Claim is Emilia Clarke. Marty and Steve's P.O.V's will be first person and anyone else's will be in third. I really you hope you like this :) Leave a review and tell me what you think! -Noor xx***_

**In a HYDRA base in Germany**

Two guards led the man down a narrow hall. These guards belonged to HYDRA, the Nazi — or former Nazi science division. The man they were holding was a Nazi spy, he was sent to retrieve something form an experiment done in New York, an experiment that changed a measly weak man that could barely throw a punch into a super human. They held the spy tightly by the arms as they made their way down to a lab. You see the spy had something that HYDRA needed, this man had a little test tube, and in that test tube was a serum; The Super Soldier Serum. The guards and the man reached double doors, one of the guards swiped a card into a slot on the wall and the doors opened automatically. They walked into the lab.

The lab was large and spacious. Equipment were scattered all around the room, lethal looking equipment. The spy looked around nervously; there were two men in the room. One was short, nearly bald; he wore large glasses on his eyes and a bright white lab coat. Then his eyes landed on the other man, standing in the corner of the lab. He was dressed in all black, looking out of a big window with his leather glove covered hands behind his back.

"Sir," one of the guards said in a deep respectful tone.

"Have you brought me what I need?" The man at the window spoke in a thick German accent. Then it hit the spy, the man standing at the window was none other than HYDRA's leader himself; Johann Schmidt.

"Yes sir," The same guard spoke, "he's right here."

"You two may leave," Johann Schmidt spoke. The two guards released the spy and left the room, the double doors closing shut behind him. Schmidt turned around, and the spy felt a sudden shock of paralyzing fear shoot through him. Schmidt's skin was bleached red, pure bright red. "Do I frighten you?" He asked the spy, walking slowly over to him.

"N-no," the spy said, shaking his head crazily, thinking that would spare his life. Schmidt released an eerie cackle.

"Wrong answer," Schmidt said, grinning. The spy's eyes went wide; he had made a very big mistake. "Give me the serum." The spy quickly searched through his pockets and grabbed a hold of the test tube. He held it in his trembling hands and passed it to Schmidt.

Schmidt turned it around in his hands, examining the blue liquid inside, a sinister grin plastered on his fiery face. "Yes…" he muttered. "Zola," He called out, the short man in the lab coat quickly rushed over to Schmidt. "Begin working on this immediately. I need the ingredients, get to work," he said handing the short man the test tube. The short man took it in his hands, and looked at the serum with fascination.

"Yes sir," he said, and hurried back over to a microscope.

"Well," said Schmidt, walking away from the spy and over to a table. On it laid a strange looking gun that was glowing blue from the inside. The spy had never seen anything like it before, and it frightened him beyond compare. "You've been a very big help…" Schmidt spoke, picking up the gun, "But, I'm afraid HYDRA no longer works with the Nazis." He pointed the gun right at the spy's heart.

"Wait no!" The spy pleaded, scrambling to the door, but Schmidt's finger pulled back the trigger. The man saw a flash of bright blue light, and his body burst into a million tiny blue particles.

**Marty**

**Brooklyn 1940's`**

One foot in front of the other, _left right left_. My feet barely grazed the cobblestone road as I ran. You see, when I ran it was if I was flying. When I ran I was weightless. I let my feet guide me home as I zigzagged through the maze of cars. I ignored the loud, angry honks from the drivers as I squeezed between the bumpers, until I finally reached the sidewalk. I didn't stop running, though. I made my way through the crowd of Brooklyn's walkers, throwing out an "excuse me," there and a, "Pardon me," here.

As I was running, I passed the post office, and the colors red, white, and blue flashed across my vision. I stopped abruptly in my tracks, causing a couple of people to bump into me. I took their annoyed looks and apologized under my breath before making my way back to the post office. Just as I thought, right on the front window of the post office was yet another Captain America poster. On it was a man, he bared a skin tight star spangled costume, his right hand raised high at his forehead in a salute, and in big white letters the words 'CAP SALUTES YOU FOR BUYING WAR BONDS!' were written.

I shook my head, annoyed. These were the kind of things that ticked me off. In this time of war America had invested so much time in this Captain America campaign. He would march up on stage with his shiny red boots, along with an entourage of dancing monkeys with their lips reds and short skirts, and they would sing about how buying war bonds is going to help win the war. It angered me so much, and it was no mystery why. I didn't want to stay home and buy war bonds, I didn't want to stay home and just root for my country; I wanted to fight for it.

I hadn't always thought like this. It all started after my brother, Bucky, enlisted. At first I was scared for him. Being orphans, Bucky was the only family I had, but I learned soon after why Bucky did what he did. It was his duty, his obligation to be a soldier. As soon as I figured that out my state of mind changed. I had a duty too, and it wasn't staying home and buying war bonds. It was going out to the front lines of the battle, to be in the midst of the chaos and fight beside my brother against the bullies in the world. Society disagreed with this of course. It was known, women weren't allowed to join the army.

This made I feel so weak and defenseless. I wanted to get my hands dirty, really contribute to something, to serve a purpose. That's why Captain America bothered me so much. The lyrics to his song claim he fights and protects America, but it's all a load of garbage. Captain America, to me, is a walking waste of money. He's probably never shot a gun in his life.

With those thoughts, I felt a burning wave of anger cast over me. The more I stared at the poster the more I wanted to punch Captain America right in the kisser. In the heat of the moment, I seized the poster and ripped it off the front window of the post office. A few people in the street stared at me strangely; a woman in the street grabbed her child's hand and led him away. I could've sworn I heard her say, "Come Johnny, get away from the crazy woman." I released a deep breath, letting my temper simmer down. I crumpled the poster in my hand, turned away from the post office, and walked the rest of the way home.

I spent the next 15 minutes clenching the Captain America poster tightly in a fist and walked home daydreaming. I pictured myself finally baring an army uniform. I pictured my brother, Bucky, beside me as we charged towards enemy lines. The more I thought about it, the more my mood dropped. Knowing I could never get to that place brought me down as if I had 100 pound weights tied to my feet.

I arrived at the door step of my home. I unlocked the door and let myself in. As soon as I took a step into the house, I nearly slipped. I looked down to the ground; under my foot was an envelope. The mailman must've slipped it through the mail slot earlier that day. I bent down and picked it up. I turned it to the front side and read who the mailer was; my eyes went wide.

In my hand was a letter from the army. Speak of the devil. I quickly shut the door behind me and threw the crumpled up Captain America poster, that had left my hand sweaty from holding it the whole way home, in the trash. I rushed over to the living room, sunk down on the sofa, and tore the envelope open. I unfolded the letter and began reading.

_Dear Ms. Martha Barnes,_

_I, as well as everyone else at the base am sorry to inform you that your brother, James Buchanan Barnes, has been killed in action. He was sent on a mission to one of the enemy bases in Austria and was killed. Bucky was a great solider and the braveness he showed will not be forgotten. Please know that we have shared in your pain and sorrow and pay our final respects to him. _

_CHESTER PHILLIPS_

_COMMANDING OFFICER_

Unsteady breaths escaped my trembling lips. I must've read it wrong. No it couldn't be. I re-read the letter, again, and again, and again. I re-read the letter seven times and by the sixth I still didn't believe it. I stared at the letter, my tear brimmed eyes glued to three words; 'killed in action'. The walls of the room came crashing down on my head. The house was always empty, but not once in my life had I ever felt so alone in a vacant house. I cussed under my breath and hurled the letter across the room. I buried my face in my hands and broke down completely.

My only family left was gone. He was gone and he was never coming back. Never again would I see his smile or hear his voice. What was I supposed to do now? I felt lost, I was scared. I was literally alone. I got off the couch, pacing as I sobbed. This was such a surprise and the last thing on my mind. Where was I going to go from here, live the rest of my life without any bit of hope? My mental list of worries went on and on…

Suddenly I stopped pacing, my sobs subsided. My face went blank, the house was silent and still. A light bulb went off in my head. I knew exactly what I was going to do. I wasn't going to be alone; I wasn't going to live the rest of my life like this. I bent down, picked up the letter, and threw in the trash can along with Captain America. I, Marty Barnes, was going to be the first woman ever to join the army.


	2. Joey Brooks

***_Hola! I just wanted thank you for your kind reviews on the last chapter, as they made me smile C: I'm really excited to keep writing for you guys! Oh, and just so you know I'll be posting a new chapter every OTHER day. Thanks, enjoy number two and leave review... oh my gosh that rhymed aha! -Noor xx*_**

**Marty**

My mind was set. There was no one on Earth who was going to make me change my mind about joining the army, and I wasn't going to take no for an answer. Despite the river of tears I cried last night, I did a hell of a lot of thinking. It was known, to join the army a man must pass a physical exam. He must be able bodied, healthy, tough, and again, a man. So, being a girl, I was going nowhere near that physical exam. I needed a guy to take it for me. A guy I trusted, a guy that wouldn't be afraid to break the rules; and I knew just who to pick.

His name is Joey Brooks. He's kind of what we call a rebel, an outlaw, but he's the greatest friend I've ever had and the perfect guy for the job. I met Joey after Bucky enlisted. I always kept him a secret when Bucky would come back for visits. I knew that Bucky, being his overprotective self, would've gone insane and stopped me from seeing Joey. Keeping him a secret was for the best, it's not like he's been getting me into any trouble…You know it's kind of funny, Joey's supposed to be the crook but I'm about to ask him to commit the biggest crime of his life; if he agrees that is.

Despite the grave headache I was suffering with from the crying, I hopped out of bed with great energy. The thought of being able to finally prove myself to the world, to avenge my brother, to serve my country set a wild fire through my body and as I rushed over to my closet to change I could feel the adrenaline surging through my veins. I put on my favorite white button down shirt, my dark blue capris, a pair of flat shoes, and tied my hair up into a bun leaving my bangs down. Lying on my dresser was the one piece of clothing I couldn't live without. I found it hanging around in my mother's room after she died. It was a bandana, a ribbon with stars and stripes. It was my American flag bandana and I wore it every day. I picked up the bandana in my hand and tied it around my head, leaving a little knot at the top. I took a very quick look in the mirror and walked out of the house; it was time.

I strolled down the street, making my way to Joey's house, wondering how he might react when I tell him my crazy proposal. What if he said no, then what? Would I just give up? No, no I couldn't give up. I'll find another way— I'd have to find another way. I approached his small home with determination and knocked on the door three times. I waited, looking around the street as people passed by. Then the door swung open.

In front of me was none other than Joey Brooks himself, messy hair and all. He looked down at me and a smile came across his tired face. "Hey Marty, how's it goin'?" He asked in a thick Brooklyn accent, leaning against the door frame.

"Not so good, Brooks," I said with a sigh, looking at him seriously. He raised a dark eyebrow, he knew something was off. "Got a minute to spare?" I asked. He nodded his head, staring at me curiously before stepping out of his house and closing the front door.

"What's the matta, ace?" He asked, taking a seat on the front step of his home. I sat next to him, rubbing my hands together.

"Got a letter from the army yesterday," I said, looking off into the street.

"You don't say."

"Mm, I did…," there was a long silence where the only sound we could hear was the bustling street ahead, "Bucky's dead." I spoke in a quiet voice, but those two words seemed to be louder than the cars, the horns, and the people. I kept my eyes fixated on the concrete step. I could feel Joey's eyes on me.

"Damn…" he whispered, running a hand through his hair. He pulled out a box of cigarettes from his pocket, placed one between his lips, and lit it. He took a long drag and exhaled, releasing a thick puff of smoke into the city air. "I'm sorry, Marty. He sounded like a good guy." He said, finally. I nodded my head and looked up from the concrete.

"Yeah, you have no idea," I said, feeling tears brim my crusty eyes. I sunk my teeth into my chapped lip, refusing to cry. I didn't have to cry, Bucky's death would be avenged, and I was going to make sure. Silence followed once again in which Joey took more drags from his cigarette and puffed out more smoke. I had to ask him about the test, delaying wasn't helping anyone. "Can do you me a favor?" I asked suddenly, getting his immediate attention.

"Anything for you, Barnes," he said, throwing his cigarette into the bustling street. That made me smile; it was good to know someone was on my side.

"It's a bit out of your usual regime," I said, biting my lip nervously. Joey looked at me and nodded his head slowly.

"Oh, so it's that kinda favor, huh?" he said, catching my drift. This wasn't some little casual favor, this was business. "Lay it on me."

This was it. I'd have to tell Joey my plan, my crazy, out of this world plan. "Joey…I" I hesitated, pushing any last second doubts that rushed into my mind, "I wanna join the army." There, I said it. It was done; there was no way to take back my words. My farfetched thoughts were out into the world and it was permanent.

With all the seriousness that hung above our heads Joey reacted the one way I thought he wouldn't. He burst out into a fit of laugher. I crossed my arm over my chest, offended and angered. "Oh Barnes, you crack me up!" he said as he cackled.

"Sorry, I don't remember saying a joke," I spat. He gained composure.

"Oh, you were serious?" he asked, rasing his eyebrows.

"Yes, I was. Joey I need your help with the physical—."

"Wait, wait, wait Marty this is insane, even for you. You don't actually think you'll get away with it, do you?" he asked, cutting me off.

"That's what I was about to tell you," I said impatiently, "Hear me out, okay?" I said, he sighed, a sly smile still on his lips as he nodded his head. "Okay, you go do the physical tests for me and pass. You following?" I asked, he nodded his head again. "Okay, then I disguise myself as a man, use your name, and go to the army." He stared at me blankly, probably taking in what I said.

"That's a big thing to ask of someone, Barnes." He said, rubbing his hands together. "I don't know…it's crazy."

"Joey, please you're all I have left," I felt the waterworks coming back, but I held them in as much as I could. "M-My parents are dead, Bucky's dead," my voice was cracking now.

"I can't Marty!" He said standing up off the step and turning his back to me, and heading for his front door. I wasn't leaving here without a yes, no way. I stood up and grabbed his wrist, pulling him back.

"You're my best friend," I stressed, he looked down at me, "I don't except you to know what it's like to have everyone tell you that you're not cut out to be something, for them to tell you that you're not good enough, that you're weak! I am good enough and I damn sure I make a better soldier than half of those men. I want to prove myself; I need to avenge my brother!" I felt so emotional, so serious about this. Why couldn't he see? Why couldn't he understand?!

Joey stared at me; he stared at me for a long time. Then his lips curved into a small smile, "Whoa, I've never seen you cry, Marty," he said with a chuckle, taking his thumb and wiping away a tear on my face. Through all my explaining I didn't even notice that I was crying.

"Well there's a first time for everything," I said laughing softly, wiping away my tears fully. "So what do you say?"

"I say," he said, "What are we waiting for, soldier?"


	3. The New Marty

***_Hi! Okay so your reviews make me very, very excited. I'm glad you guys like it so far and I hope and I can continue to keep you guys happy, haha. So here's number three, don't forget to leave your hopefully not to harsh opinion as a review and remember kids...in the end, you will always kneel C: -Noor xx*_**

**Marty**

I took Joey downtown, that's where the physicals were being held. I couldn't believe he was actually doing this, but I'm glad he was. Joey's reaction made a lot of sense to me now that I thought about it. He laughed because my idea, my plan to get into the army was actually crazy. He would've never thought anyone would actually try it. I'm not a mind reader, but I know Joey's pretty shaken up about this; it's the biggest crime he's ever going to commit. That's why I need to be the best man I can possibly be, for his sake.

We approached a building like any other building in Brooklyn, brick walls and all. Beside was a sign telling us that that's where the tests were being held. I turned to him, "Okay, this is it," I said nodding my head.

"A'ight, I just go in there and take the test, right?" He asked, looking down at me.

"That's right, they'll pull out your medical record," I informed him.

"Good, that's the only clean record I have," he joked; at least I hoped he was joking.

"Yeah," I laughed, "Whenever you're ready."

"You owe me big time, Barnes," he said before walking through the door and into the building. I would owe him, I would owe for the rest of my life if I got in.

The test seemed to take ages. I just sat on the curb of the sidewalk, thinking about Bucky. Everything was moving so fast, it hadn't really sunk in that my only brother was actually gone…he was gone for good. I wish I could've at least said goodbye, just one last word to him, but it's too late now. Memories of Bucky and I as kids began to fill my mind. I wanted to wash them away, get him out of my mind, but despite how sad the thoughts made me they also brought a slight smile to my face.

As one hour turned into two, man after man began to walk out of the building gradually. I was beginning to think Joey made a break for it and ran home, but then as the clock struck three the door of the building opened again and out walked Joey, a manila folder in his hands. That was his medical record, his pass or fail. I sprung up from the curb and hurried over to him.

"All done," he said, handing me the folder. I took it from his hands without saying a word, this was it. I opened it up and in the bottom right hand corner of the page was a 1A. A wide smile spread on my face. He passed…

"Joey, you passed!" I said, looking up from the folder and to him.

"Really, is that what that 1A meant?" He asked scratching his head.

"Yes, you did it!" I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. He hugged me back, "Thank you so much." I said, releasing him.

"No problem, ace," he said as if it was no big deal. I looked back down at the paper in my hand, dazed by the 1A. I was going to be a soldier, and it was all because of Joey. "Now what?" he asked.

"I gotta make myself look like a guy," I said, beginning to think over the next part of my plan. "I could use some help, from a guy like you…" I said looking up at Joey. He sighed.

"Lead the way," Joey said.

"You gotta stay still Barnes, c'mon I don't wanna screw this up," Joey said, a pair of scissors held tightly in his hands.

"You better not screw up or I'll kick your ass," I muttered.

It was about midnight, Joey and I stood in my bathroom. It was small, badly lit, and stuffy, but it had the biggest mirror in the house, and we needed to see what Joey was doing. This was part of the plan, cutting my hair. From what I knew, Joey had never cut a strand of hair in his life. I wanted to look like a guy; I didn't want to look like a guy who couldn't afford a good barber. Even though, technically I couldn't. This was part of the plan, making myself look like a guy.

"Okay, I'm gonna start," Joey warned, opening the scissors threateningly.

"Okay," I muttered, shutting my eyes tightly. "Just be careful." I could hear the sound of the blades slicing through my hair. "Oh boy…," I whispered.

"Relax, I got this," Joey said, taking another wad of hair and cutting right through it.

As the minutes went buy I felt my head grow lighter and lighter. I eventually got used to the feeling of Joey's hands slicing my hair, but I didn't open my eyes, not even a peek the whole time. After about an hour of snipping and slicing, Joey put the scissors down on the sink. "A'ight, take a look."

I slowly opened my eyes. I looked into the mirror, but couldn't myself. I saw a stranger. The person in the mirror didn't seem to know me either; this stranger looked at me with confusion. "Oh my goodness, Joey," I said, breathlessly. My blue eyes went wide, that stranger was indeed me.

"What do you think?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I think…" I looked deeply into the mirror. I ran a hand through my thinned hair, it was so short. Its former curls and long bouncy locks now littered the bathroom floor. "I think I look like a man." I said, turning to face him.

Joey nodded his head, smiling to himself. "Damn, I'm good at this." I laughed softly and looked back at the mirror, at the new me.

"Yeah, not bad, I'm impressed." I said, ruffling my newly shortened hair. "You could have a future in this, Joey. Ever thought of that?" I said, turning to him.

"Nah," he said as he shook his head. "It isn't ever gonna happen." He said doubtfully, looking to the floor.

"They said a woman would never get in the army," I said, and his head shot up. "You never know, is what I mean," I opened the bathroom door and stepped out.

"Yeah…" he replied casually, shrugging.

Joey and I cleaned up the bathroom. We put away the scissors and retired to the living room. I threw myself on the couch, exhausted by the day's events. So much had happened in such little time. Time became an illusion, the numbers on the clock didn't mean much anymore. It was strange, sitting down and just thinking about everything that had happened in the past 24 hours. It was all so fast. I was still in shock over Bucky's death for crying out loud.

Joey wandered around the room, looking at old family pictures of Bucky and I, cracking a smile here and there. I wasn't in the mood to talk about Bucky, I had already cried in front of Joey once that day and I didn't want to do it again. I cleared her throat, getting his attention.

"So, question, how am I going to cover up my chest?" I asked, personally looking desperately for an answer. Joey shrugged and joined me on the couch.

"You could...uh...no that's dumb. Well you could always…wait, that wouldn't work," he said, thinking hard. "Oh! You could use a wrap."

"A wrap; what do you mean?" I said, tilting my head slightly.

"You could take a wrap and wrap it around yourself real tight. I've seen it in movies before. It might work."

I thought, it was an iffy idea, but it couldn't hurt to try. "Yeah, okay let's try it. I think I have a wrap in my room. I used it for my arm once; I'll go try it real quick." With that, I rushed over to her room. I threw open the door and hurried over to one of the drawers. I opened it up, rummaged through the clatter, and pulled out an old, raggedy looking wrap from the bottom of it. It was long and when fully unraveled it could stretch across the whole room. I locked my bedroom door and hastily removed my shirt and bra. I took the wrap in my hand and began covering my chest with it. I unrolled it around and around myself, pulling on it as tightly as I possibly could, squeezing my chest. By the time I unrolled the whole thing, I could barely breathe, but it would have to do. I pulled on my shirt, leaving my bra stranded on the bed and walked back out to the living room.

I planted myself in front of Joey and put her hands on her hips. "Normally I wouldn't let you stare at my chest, but you have permission this time, Brooks," I said. He rolled his eyes at her. "Can you see anything?" I asked, looking down at my now flat chest. He got off the couch and walked towards me, cocking his head to one side, taking a long look at my chest. He was messing with me now. "Joey, you have five seconds or the next thing you'll be looking at it the bottom of my foot." I warned. I hated it when guys played me like that. He just chuckled.

"Can't see anything, you're good," he said shaking his head. "Can you even breathe?"

"Not exactly, but I'll get used to it." I said, relieved that the issue was dealt with. "Guess that's all, I'm ready." I spoke, saying the words that I had been dying to voice. I was ready. I had been ready for a long time.

Joey nodded his head then looked over at the photos again. "Bucky would be proud," he said, looking back at me. I turned to the picture frames.

"Let's hope so," I said, my eyes landing on a photo of Bucky beaming happily. He seemed to be staring right at me, and I couldn't help but crack a smile…

"Well, I should be going," Joey said interrupting my little moment. I turned my attention to Joey and nodded my head.

"Yeah, it's pretty late." I said glancing at the clock on the wall. I then realized that this would be the last time she might ever see Joey again. This thought hit me like a mountain of bricks. My best friend, the reason I would now call myself a solider. I would have to say goodbye now, but what are your finals words to the person who you shared so many memories with.

I walked Joey over to the front door, opening it for him. He stepped out into the dark night, and turned to face me. "Barnes," he said, softly, "Good luck, go win us this war."

A lump formed in my throat, this man was the only reason I was able to go to the army. He was the only reason this crazy dream of mine was becoming a reality. I owed him so much, I was feeling so grateful for him at that very moment that I didn't know quite what to say or do. "I will." I decided would suffice. Then I leaned over and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. "Thank you so much, Joey." I said will all the sincerity I had in me.

Joey gave me a smile, "No problem, it's what I do, babe," he said coolly with a shrug. Joey raised his hand to his forehead and saluted me. "See you around, soldier." He gave me wink, and I took the last look that I ever would at Joey Brooks.

_***LOKI'D! -Noor xx***_


	4. Barbed Wire and Blood

*****_**This chapter is a little late because I didn't have wifi, but no worries it's up now! I just wanted to take this time to thank my sister, Zaina, for helping me with the plot. I'm the most indecisive loser on the planet and she helped me organize my cluttered mess of a mind and gave me some great ideas. So thank you Zaina! Hope you like number four, leave me your opinion!* **_**  
Marty**

"BROOKS MOVE IT FASTER, FASTER!" The sound of the trainer's voice echoed out into the field. I jumped at the sound of my new last name being bellowed so suddenly. I dug my elbow into the slimy mud forcefully, thrusting myself forward. Rain pounded down on the training fields, a layer of barbed wire hung mere centimeters above my aching head, threatening to pierce my mud stained skin with the slightest wrong movement. "BROOKS MOVE!" The trainer shouted again. Startled, I jumped again, my arm scrapped along the barbed wire. It cut through my shirt sleeve, leaving a gash. I winced at the sudden burning sensation emitting from my arm, but pushed on through. Water dripped from down my face, or was it sweat? I wasn't sure.

It's been a week since I last laid eyes on Joey Brooks. Since then I has left my Brooklyn home and resigned to the infamous New York City to train as a soldier. I was half-way there. I would feel truly accomplished when I had stepped foot on a real battlefield and proved myself to the world, to myself. The training instructor was vicious and aggressive, though. He would yell your name about a hundred times a day. Joey Brooks was of course I's alias, but I felt like I had heard Joey's name called more in that one week than Joey had heard his whole life.

Training wasn't easy. Despite being a solider, I was still a woman. I had a smaller build than the rest of the guys. I was still the underdog, even me. The trainer pushed my harder than anyone else. I didn't climb as fast, couldn't carry as much weight, or crawl as quickly, but there was one thing that I did better than all the other men; running.

I finally crawled my way out of the barbed wire. I stood up, the rain pounding hard on my head. I pulled up my sleeve and looked down at my arm. The gash wasn't too deep, but it was bloody. Thick droplets of ruby red blood trickled out from my gash, turning a muddy burgundy when mixed with the mud on my skin. I wiped away the blood the best that I could and pulled my sleeve back. Then suddenly the same loud, alarming voice pierced my ears again, "BROOKS ON THE TRACK!"

The track, it was time to run. This was what I was good at; this is what made that damn trainer instructor bite his tongue. I ran a hand through my short, wet hair and walked over through the mud to the track with the other men. "Alright ladies, listen up!" The trainer spat._ Ladies, you have no idea, _I thought, smiling slyly to myself. "We're doing 6 miles today. If I see you fall behind you will be doing extra rounds. Do I make myself clear?!" he said, firmly.

"Yes sir!" The men and I all said in sync. The run began. I immediately took off like a jet. I pounded my feet down into the mud, picking up speed. Adrenaline surged through my body, my heart rate sped up. I began moving faster, and faster, leaving the men straddling far behind. I glanced behind my, catching a glimpse of the trainer who was driving in a small truck. He sat, his arms crossed tightly over his chest, and he watched me intensely.

I sprinted, and as I reached the two mile mark I weightless once again. I glided like an eagle, hovering over the mud. In the blink of an eye three miles were done. "Alright ladies stop!" The trainer called out, jumping out of his little truck. I and the men came to a halt, breathing heavily. The trainer had stopped them in front of a flagpole and on the top, an American flag bellowed in the wind and rain. The trainer looked up at the flag pole and pointed, "You get that flag from the top and you get a ride back to camp with me in the truck."

It was a good bargain, considering the men were just about melting in their boots from all the running, but I was just fine. I was the only one not struggling for breath and the only sweat she could feel was thin. I could do this all day, but evidently the other men were dying to be finished. They piled on top of each other; trying to claw their up the slippery pole like a pack of wild dogs. I looked up at the flag. I could get that, right? I looked over at the trainer. He wore a smirk on his wrinkled face, amused by the failure of the men. Gosh, I wanted to wipe the grin of his face so bad, so badly that I pushed my way through the crowd of men. They backed away, looking surprised that the group's weakest soldier was giving it go. One of them even chuckled under his breath. I ignored him, placed my hands on the wet metal of the flag pole and tried to climb.

I couldn't do it. My muddy boots kept slipping on the wet surface of the flag pole, but I wasn't going to let the trainer have the last laugh. I took off my boots and socks, my feet were dry and they were sweaty; perfect. I tried again, my sweaty feet stuck to the pole and I pulled myself with all the strength I had in my arms. I ascended higher and higher, the group below began cheering my on. "C'mon Brooks!" they said, it motivated me. Squinting through the rain, I persisted on. I was so close to the flag; I could barely touch it with just the tip of my finger. I almost got it, I had in the bag! Then, my feet lost traction. The pole was too slippery. I lost control and found myself dropping back down to Earth. My back slammed into the ground painfully, knocking the breath right out of my.

The men around me didn't even care to help me up. They just began to spread out, disinterested now that I failed. They left me stranded on the floor, my body aching, the gash on my arm began to sting more painfully than before, "Fall in!" the trainer said. I forced my broken body off the ground, pulled my boots back on, and dragged my feet over to the track. Before getting back in his truck, the trainer swaggered over to me, a smug expression wiped across his face, and said, "Nice try Brooks, maybe next time." My face burned up, I felt my blood boil beneath my skin. I would've kicked that guy where the sun didn't shine, but wanting to avoid making a scene I held back my anger and began running again.

By the end of the six miles I was worn out. My high spirited mood that I started off running with had vanished just as quickly as it came. I lay in my cabin that night, alone. All the other men were off at dinner, but I didn't feel that hungry. I looked up at the wooden ceiling, thinking. After the day's events at the flagpole and the barbed wire I was beginning to doubt myself. Maybe this was all just one crazy idea. Maybe I wasn't cut out to be a solider after all. I suddenly felt very lonely, I began thinking about Bucky. I covered my face with my hands and inhaled deeply, if I could have just said goodbye…

Just then, the door of the cabin creaked open. I quickly removed my hands off my face. At the door was the last person I wanted to see; the trainer. "You're not at dinner," he said, walking in, his bulky boots clunking on the wooden floor.

"Not hungry," I said flatly, sitting up of my bed. What was he doing here, anyways? The trainer walked over to the bed across from me and sat on the edge.

"You hate me," he said bluntly, staring I right in the eyes. I was angered beyond belief with this guy.

"With all due respect, sir," I began, "I do."

He chuckled and nodded his head. "Do you know why I'm so terrible to you, Brooks?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No sir."

"It's because you're good." He said, and I didn't hear any sarcasm or the slightest bit of ridicule in his voice. He was telling me the truth.

I had never been so confused in my life, "But why sir? If I'm good…I don't understand," I said, wanting a better explanation.

"I'm hardest on you because I know you've got it, son," he said, nodding his head slowly. "You may be weaker than then the other men, but you've got a spirit that I've never seen before. That thing you did with the flag was something else. You didn't get it, but you did everything you could and that's what's important. Usually the men here can't look past the guns, but you did. You looked past the bullets and the blood, Brooks. You've got something special, and that's why I push you."

I smiled for the first time since I arrived on the camp. "Thank you, sir," I said, truly effected by what just happened. Every word he said was now engraved in I's mind. I could feel my doubts fading away. I would use that night as a fuel. I wasn't going to give up at the first sign of hardships. I didn't come here because I had power or strength; I came here because I had a duty to fulfill.

The trainer nodded his head a single time, getting up off the bed. "They're serving steak if you want; we don't get that out here much. Go get it while it's still fresh," he said, giving me a soft smile before walking out of the cabin.

Another week passed at training. I worked myself to the bone. I put 110% effort into all of my training. By the end of the week I felt stronger, tougher, and could endure a lot more than before. I was finally being accepted as one of the other guys. The trainer still pushed me the hardest, but now knowing his reasoning behind it all, I took his crap. The best thing about all of this was no one seemed suspicious. Everyone was totally convinced that I was Joey Brooks and indeed a guy. In the past couple of weeks I would observe the guys. How they talked, walked, dressed, ate; I needed to blend in. Of course, it was hard for me to act like a man. I was surprised they hadn't figured out my secret yet. A woman in the army was the last thing the others would expect. Perhaps it just never occurred to them that there might actually be one.

It was the Friday of my second week at training. I had just finished one of my climbing exercises when the sound of a whistle echoed out through the field. My head shot to the source of the sound. Standing on the field was a general, General Chester Philips to be exact. He had a whistle between his lips and a clipboard in his hand. This was the man who had sent me the condolence letter for Bucky. The rest of the men and I left their training and lined up in front of the general. "Alright, listen for your name." He said, looking down at his clipboard. I didn't know what was going on, but gave the general my undivided attention. "Thompson, Anderson, Parker, Brooks…" My stomach flipped at the sound of my fake last name, the general continued, "Robertson, Andrews…" the general continued, calling out ten more names. I was growing restless, why was my name called?! "If your name was called you are being sent to one of our bases in Italy. You're done training, for now. Pack up; we leave at 9:00." Then he just walked off the field.

I was shocked. They called my name to be called overseas? They must think I was truly ready now. This is what I had been waiting for ever since Bucky enlisted in the army, to be on the front lines, to be able to say I helped win this thing. I and the rest of the men were ordered to go and pack their things. We had a flight to catch after all.


	5. Italian Miracles

**_*Okay hi! I have a couple things to say here. One, if you noticed any POV mistakes in the earlier chapters where I might have written "her" instead of "I" and stuff it's because I changed the POV while I was writing and I might have missed some stuff. Two, to the person asking if this story will continue into the Avengers the answer is YES! This is will have a sequel if it continues to get good reviews and reads :) Three, I wanna change Marty's FC (Face Claim) to Lyndsy Fonseca because I think she works more. That's all! Enjoy and leave a review lovelies!*_  
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**Marty**

My knuckles went white as I dug my nails into the arm rest of the plane chair, I was holding on to it as tightly as I possibly could. This was called takeoff. It was fast, heart-racing, nerve racking, but exciting. The plane zoomed along the runway, in a mere few seconds I would be flying for the first time in all 20 years of my life. I kept my eyes shut tight, then suddenly the strangest stomach tossing sensation spread through my body and I felt the plane release the weight of world. I opened her eyes slowly, and peered out of the little window beside me. All I could see was a dark black sky, and tiny little twinkling lights that seemed light-years away. Then it hit me, those tiny lights were New York, I was flying.

The plane ride was smooth; I forgot I was flying most of the time. It was strange, I would look out of the window and see them zooming by clouds and ocean, but then I'd look back to the inside of the plane and everything was as still as land. The rest of the flight was certainly not as exciting as the takeoff. It was a long 7 hours or so and I spent almost all of it looking out of the window, and thinking about my brother.

Was Joey right? Would Bucky be proud of me for joining the army? If he was still with me, would he hug me and tell me I was brave or snap at me for being so reckless? Knowing my brother I would imagine he'd do both. Bucky was always so protective of I. When we were still in school Bucky would walk me to class, make sure I got everything I needed, helped me with my homework (though he could barely do it himself), and was basically the greatest brother a girl could ask for. He was only a year older than me, but with no parents to look after us Bucky was like a dad to me.

Just as I was beginning to think flying was the most boring thing a human could possibly do in their life, it was time for landing. It was more nauseating and exciting than takeoff. I could slowly feel the plane descending as my stomach performed its own gymnastics routine, causing me to nearly throw up all over the general himself, but I fought back my sickness. It was my first plane ride and I would need time before I got used to this kind of technology. When the plane finally touched the ground I was practically jumping up and down, needing to get out of the prison I had been in for the past 7 hours.

I walked off the plane, this was the first time I had ever stepped foot off American soil. There was a whole world out there that I had never seen before, but I and the other men were immediately sent to the base. Though I was itching to go and explore Italy, I was there for a reason not to have fun. They arrived on the base and my jaw dropped to the floor.

The base was larger than life. It made the training base back in New York look like playground. This one was huge. Everywhere my eyes wandered, laid something I had never seen before. There was everything from training to marches, tanks to command centers, arsenals, countless men in uniform; the list could go one forever. I wanted to explore the base and really take in everything, but I was told to go to my designated bunk to unpack before doing anything. I followed the directions that were given to me and walked to the location of my bunk. I walked up to it. It was much like the one back in New York, wooden, small. I walked up the few steps to the door and swung it open.

I found myself face to face with about 6 men. They sat around the beds, it seemed like they had been having a conversation, but I couldn't tell exactly. The room fell silent as soon as I stepped foot into the bunk. I gave the men, who were now looking my up and down, examining my, a small hello smile. Only a couple of them returned it, I was yet again the underdog. I honestly couldn't care less, though. I wasn't here to make friends; I was here to make history. The men returned to their conversation just as quickly as they had left it, now ignoring my existence completely.

I let a quiet sigh and dragged my feet over to my assigned bed. I dropped my bag on to it and sat on the edge, bouncing slightly on the uncomfortable springy mattress. I glanced over at the 6 men as they released hardy laughs, beaming brightly from under their thick mustaches. Just then the door of the cabin swung open, and the same awkward silence fell into the room. There was a man at the door; he had brown curly hair, a light beard, and bluish-green eyes. He smiled at the 6 men and nodded his head a single time, "'Evening," he said in what I believed to be a British accent. The men gave weak forced smiles back to him, brushing him off as they did with me.

I followed the British man with my eyes as strolled down the aisle of beds. He planted himself down on the opposite one of me and began removing the muddy, worn out boots off his feet. I couldn't quite look away from him; there was something about the man that drew my attention. The way those men barely acknowledged him reminded me of myself. He must've noticed my staring, as I was near to burning holes in the poor man's head, because his eyes shot right at me, startling my a bit. He gave me a smile, and looked back down at his feet, removing the boot off his left foot, "Are you new?" he asked unexpectedly.

"Huh?" I blurted out, "Me?" I asked shocked that someone was actually talking to my.

"Yes, you."

"Oh yeah, I'm new. Just got here," I said, nodding my head slowly.

"American," he stated, removing the boot off his right foot.

"That I am," I replied, "If I'm not mistaken, you're British?"

"As British as they come, lad," he said, standing up off the bed. He walked over to I, "The name's Arthur Richards," he extended out his hand for me to shake, "But they call me Artie here."

I stood up and shook Artie's hand, "Ma—," I began introducing myself, almost giving away my cover, "I mean J-Joey," I stammered worriedly, "My name's Joey Brooks." That was a close one_, _I better watch myself. I released his hand.

"Where are you from exactly?" Artie asked, sounding genuinely interested.

"Brooklyn, New York," I said, finally being able to say something truthful about who I was. It was such a foreign thing to me, lying about my identity. I almost slipped up and gave away my real name just two seconds ago; I had to get a hold on the situation before I blow my own cover.

"Very nice, well it's good to have you on our side, Brooks," he said, giving me a big, manly pat on the back.

"Thanks, likewise Mr. Richards," I said as my lips curled into a slight smile, I couldn't help it. Someone, a real soldier, had just welcomed me into the army. Guess I could make history and make friends, too.

"Care to look around the base?" Artie asked, suddenly, "I'll show you around, lad." He said, rushing over to his bed and began pulling on his boots back on before I could even get out an answer. It looked like he was really eager to make an alliance.

"Yeah, that'd be swell, thanks," I said, picking up the bag off the mattress and slipping it under the bed. Artie stood up, his boots back on his feet.

"C'mon, then, follow me," he said, leading my out of the cabin. I followed him, our feet moving in sync as we walked side by side through the base.

He showed my where all the essentials were, the bathrooms, dining hall, command centers, training grounds. I was beginning to grow familiar with the base and my way around. I took in every word Artie said, making sure to remember the directions he would give me.

"Did you hear about what happened with the Austria mission?" Artie asked, as they walked past the training grounds. The Austria mission, that was the mission Bucky died on… I nodded my head slowly.

"Yeah…such a big loss, what a shame…" I said quietly. Artie nodded his head.

"Yes, those were a lot of men, god knows if they're all dead even," he said, kicking up some dirt with his boot. My head shot up from the ground, and I met Artie eyes.

"What do you mean?" I asked my eyes wide. "You mean captured?"

"Captured...tortured maybe," he said, shrugging, "These are Nazis we're talking about, you never know."

"Why don't they send out a rescue team?" I asked, bewildered that they army weren't taking action to save their own men. They could be alive, they could still be saved.

"Too far across enemy lines, it would be mental to go there like that. We'd lose more lives than we'd save."

"We don't know that for sure, we have to try at least," I persisted. My brother died there, why would the army just leave countless men to be tortured? It was wrong; this wasn't just about winning the war it's about saving lives too.

"There's no use in trying, lad," Artie said patiently, "It's been a month, it's over now," he assured me, giving me another pat on the back.

_I stood in a room. All was dark, pitch black, except for one spot. A light, a blinding white light beamed down over a hospital bed. It was a small bed, and on it Bucky Barnes lay flat on his back. His hands chained down to the bed, there was no escape. I stood, a blade held tightly in her grasp. It glistened beautifully in the light, and soon it would drip thick, crimson, American blood. I approached my brother and looked straight into his eyes. They were blood shot, screaming in terror as they eyed the gleaming blade in my hand. "M-Marty please," he barely voiced, his breath shaky, "Don't do it…"_

_I simply shook my head. I looked down to Bucky's bare chest. Then, I took the blade and plunged it into Bucky's chest. Bucky cried a loud, ear-splitting, soul-shaking cry. It filled the entire room, echoing, lasting, never ending... I held the blade tightly, and began tearing Bucky's skin, slicing through it with ease, carving deep slashes into it where they were needed. His skin separated, blood gushed out, leaving the blade with a new ruby coat. I pulled out the blade…Bucky still shrieked, his chest glistening with fresh blood and carved into his chest was a sign that everyone knew, everyone feared. Carved into Bucky's chest was the Nazi symbol. _

My eyes shot open, I sprung up in my bed. Sweat trickled down my head; my heart was beating at an unhealthy rate. My hands shook and my head spun. His cry, Bucky's petrifying scream still rang in my ears. It was just a dream, it was a nightmare. I sat upright in the dark cabin, panting for air. I knew exactly why I had dreamed such a dream. It was because of what Artie had told my earlier that day, about how the men on the Austria mission could still be being tortured. I prayed that my brother didn't go being tortured to death; I prayed with all my heart that he didn't die shrieking and yelling in agony. I didn't cry, I was too scared to cry, too shocked to cry. I just sat wide awake in my bed as the rest of the men in the cabin snored and slept in peace. I didn't want to go back to sleep, not after what I had just seen, but my eyelids were so heavy, my body was so worn out that I found myself slipping back into a heavy sleep…

"Brooks! Joey, wake up!" A familiar British accent seeped through my deep sleep, "Brooks get up!" It said again, I felt myself being shaken. My eyes fluttered open and hovering over my bed was Artie.

"What's wrong?" I asked, sitting up sleepily in my bed.

"There's something going on outside, c'mon," he said, hastily. The cabin was empty, what was going on? I quickly got off my bed and pulled on my boots. Artie and I ran outside the bunk.

Outside there was a huge crowd of men, they were clapping and cheering. It looked like some kind of parade. Artie and I cast confused looks at each other and squeezed their way to front of the crowd. Coming into the base were soldiers, many, many soldiers. They strutted in, strange foreign weapons in their hands, bruises and cuts all over their bodies.

"Brooks, it's the Austria mission!" Artie said, "They're back!" he said, chuckling happily.

I beamed how they could have gotten back I just don't know. My eyes wandered to the front of the crowd. Strutting in was a tall, muscular man with blond hair and greenish eyes. It was Captain America! He was a real hero, I was wrong about him. I suddenly felt guilty about crumpling up the poster back in Brooklyn. Wait a second…I looked closer into Captain America's face. That face, I knew that face. I gasped in realization, that wasn't just Captain America, that was Steve Rogers, Bucky's best friend. I had only seen him twice, met him once, but he looked different. Like, really different. He was taller, muscular. I remember him as a small, scrawny pile of bones, but this…this was almost inhumane. How could a little guy like Steve become _that_?

Then a voice reached my ears, and my heart stopped. "Let's hear it for Captain America!" A scarily familiar voice said from the front of the crowd. It was _his_ voice. The sounds of cheering faded away. The only thing I could hear was that voice, ringing in my ears. My eyes searched desperately through the crowd, scanning over man after man, and then I found him, standing right next to Captain America. I was looking right into the face of my dead brother.


	6. This Living Dead

**_*Sorry I didn't update yesterday! My updating schedule will be a little off for a while. I have very limited wifi connection. So when ever I have it I will post. So sorry! Anyways, thanks for the reviews and hope you like this chapter :) -Noor xx*_  
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**Marty**

I was hallucinating, I had to be. There was no other explanation. Bucky was dead, I got the letter, it was set in stone. Had I gone insane? Or had I been dreaming this whole time? Maybe I never joined the army. Maybe Bucky wasn't dead, maybe…just maybe. Another voice brought me out of my disordered haze, a kind, deep voice. I knew who the voice was for it was before even seeing his face, I had heard it in films, even heard it live on stage. It was Steve's. "It's good to have you back, Bucky," he said, patting Bucky on the back.

Those words brought me crashing right back down to earth and to reality. I wasn't going crazy, I was very much sane. Bucky, my only brother, my best friend was alive. I couldn't fight a smile as a wave of sweet, warm relief cast over me. It took every ounce of strength I had in me to stop myself from running up to him, to hug him, to tell him how much I missed him and that I had joined the army. I knew I couldn't. If Bucky found out I was a soldier he'd be furious, cause a scene, and worst of all, have me sent back home. I just stood, motionless, overcome by strange emotions as I gazed at my brother. He looked beaten up and weak. I wish I could ask him what happened back in Austria, but I just couldn't.

Suddenly, General Philips appeared in the chaos. He walked right up to Steve, a woman with short curly brown hair beside him. Steve saluted the general. I think I heard him say something about giving himself up for disciplinary actions, but I wasn't sure. I was too distracted by Bucky and his very real, very alive, breathing state. I think I heard the general tell Steve there was no reason for discipline, but again, I wasn't paying much attention to them at all.

The crowd around us was beginning to disperse. Men from the Austria mission, who needed medical attention, were sent to the infirmaries; Bucky was one of them. The other men were sent to their bunks to get the well-deserved rest they desperately needed. A nudge on my arm from Artie brought me out of my distracted haze. "C'mon Brooks, let's get some food, yeah?" I heard him say, though my eyes were still locked on Bucky who was being led to one of the infirmaries by a nurse.

"Yeah, okay." I said quietly.

Artie and I left the scene and retired to the dining hall. It was loud today; men still cheered and welcomed back friends and team mates. Artie and got our food and sat at one of the long tables across from each other. He began going on and on about the return of the men, how he was so surprised and how I was right about them still being alive. I just picked at my food with a fork and looked up at him every once and a while. Bucky was actually alive…damn.

"Did you see those weapons they had with them, though?" Artie asked, taking a large bit of his eggs. I threw my fork down on my plate and sat up straight.

"Yeah," I said absentmindedly, "They looked kinda weird, you know?" I asked, thinking back to the strange foreign weapons the soldiers brought back with them. "They were all glowing blue, like magic or somethin'." I said.

"No, couldn't be magic," Artie said shaking his head, swallowing. "That stuff doesn't exist."

"Then what is it?" I asked, curiously.

"I honestly couldn't tell you, Brooks," He replied, bringing his cup of water to his mouth and taking a gulp. "Those Nazis are bloody mental if you ask me. God knows what they've got up their sleeves."

"Yeah, god knows…"

**Meanwhile a secret HYDRA base location**

"I am growing impatient, Doctor," Johann Schmidt warned, strolling into the lab. He was dressed in all black, a hard expression on his enflamed face. Zola looked up from his microscope, worriedly.

"Sir, zis is not an easy task. I-I must be very careful, I must get every ingredient sir or the serum will malfunction again, like it did wiz yo—," Zola stopped himself before he could finish his sentence. The reason Schmidt's skin was stained red was because of the super soldier serum. Schmidt had used it on himself before, but it did not go as planned. Like Doctor Zola said, it malfunctioned. However, despite what others might think Schmidt believed himself to be the greatest success there is. Schmidt believed he was as powerful as God. The doctor cleared his throat, pushing up his glasses nervously, "I mean, I must be careful, I wouldn't want to miss anything, sir… If we want zis super army, we need ze right ingredients."

Schmidt slammed his glove-covered fist down on the lab table, making Zola jump. "Well then be careful faster, Doctor. Because I don't have time," He spat in his German accent. The doctor nodded his head quickly, and returned to the microscope. Deciphering the Super Soldier Serum was one of the hardest things Zola had ever done, but he would have to do it, for HYDRA. There was a war and he had to do what he had to do.

Schmidt gained composure, standing up straight. He straightened out his long black coat and turned to a metal contraption in the corner of the lab. Blue light emitted from it, filling the immediate area with a soft glow. It looked beautiful, elegant, and it inside of this contraption was the most lethal mineral in the universe. Schmidt walked up to it; on the top of the contraption was a handle. He grasped it, turned it clockwise, and pulled out a wide rectangular container. Inside was a glowing cube, not much larger than a fist. This cube was called the Tesseract, it came from another planet, and it belonged to the gods. It's what powered all of HYDRA's weapons. And they did more than just shoot stuff. It made their targets evaporate, become nothing, nonexistent. Schmidt gazed into the Tesseracts's hypnotizing blue light, "At least I have this," he said, turning the container in his hand, "For now."

**Steve**

_Captain Steve Rogers_, it sounded professional, it sounded right. That's what people called me now; I was a real captain, and not the one in tights. Going on the unauthorized rescue mission to Austria was one of the riskiest things I've ever done – wait no, it_ is_ the riskiest thing I've ever done, but I don't regret it for second. I was able to bring back so many men, and one man especially; my best friend, Bucky. What I did would've probably gotten me into a lot of trouble with General Philips, but he said I didn't deserve disciplinary action and that made me a hell of a lot better about what I did. People saw me as a hero now, but I'm still that little guy from Brooklyn, just taller, and with bigger arms.

I saw some things at that HYDRA base that I knew would be important, so I decided it'd be a good idea to bring back some information back with me. The men and I came back with some of HYDRA's weapons, I don't know what they're running on but it sure isn't gun powder. Their weapons burst out some kind of blue minerals, and once it hit its target that person vanishes, not even leaving a body behind. General Philips says they're using something called The Tesseract to power their weapons. It's apparently the strongest form of energy this world's ever seen. I don't know much about that stuff, but I know that it's dangerous and that HYDRA needs to be stopped. So, we handed over the fragment of Tesseract energy I got from the HYDRA base over to Mr. Howard Stark. He's a genius and knows more about this stuff than anyone of this team.

I also caught a glimpse of a map of HYDRA's bases while on the rescue mission. So while Stark was busy in his lab, I copied down what I remembered from the map on to a fresh one at our base. We have a pretty good idea of where our next targets are, but if we were going to start destroying HYDRA's bases I needed a team, a team of my best men. I was already putting together a mental list of the right men for the job in my head when General Philips asked.

_Captain Steve Rogers_…I could get used to that.

**Marty**

For the next few days Captain Steve Rogers was the talk of the base. I was impressed, I would've never thought a little guy like Steve would ever become well…you know, not a little guy. He wasn't just in the army now; he was a captain, a leader, a respected individual.

It was known around the base that now it wasn't the Nazis that we were up against, it was HYDRA, the Nazi's old science division. This news was a bit confusing. It seems like there's a lot of puzzle pieces missing and the only people who know exactly what's going on are General Philips, Captain Rogers, and his team of men. Gosh that team. I wanted to be on that team _so_ badly. I haven't been on a single mission yet. Captain Roger's team sounded important. I want to serve a purpose here, I'm over training, and I'm over this base. I want action, I want my hands dirty, and I want to get something done. There was a slight problem with this idea, though. Bucky was with Captain. He was his right hand man. Being in the team might just give away my identity; I don't want Bucky to find out. Fortunately, that's a risk I'm willing to a take. If it means getting the bad guys than the hell with Bucky; I'm getting on that team no matter what it takes.

I had made it my personal mission to get General Philips to consider me for Captain Rogers' team. I began training better, sucking up to him, helping him out with his work if he needed it. I was basically throwing every reason why I should be alongside the captain in the general's face until finally he pulled me aside and said, "Listen up kid, kissing my ass is going to get you nowhere. There's no way you're leaving this base 'till I say so. Do I make myself clear?"

At that point I just gritted my teeth and said, "Yes sir."

"Give it a rest, Joey," Artie said patiently, staring up at the bunk ceiling that Thursday night. I had been going on for ages about how Philips wasn't cut out to be a general. My rant was getting long and repetitive, but I didn't give a damn. I was pissed off.

"No, I will not give it rest," I continued, pacing the bunk. "What does he know? That old timer needs a reality check because I'm one hell of a good soldier!"

"No offense, mate, but you've never actually been on a mission. How do you even know if you're a good soldier?" I stopped pacing and shot him a look. He sighed and sat up in his bed. "I'm just saying."

I plopped down on my mattress, with my arms crossed. "Well if he'd just give me a chance, that's all I need." I said, allowing my temper to simmer down, "Just one."

Artie got off his bed and walked over to mine and said, "You know, these people, the general, he knows what he's talking about. He's knows who's good enough and ready and who isn't. You shouldn't question his decision, mate." That struck a nerve.

"Not good enough, huh?" I asked to him. "You have _no_ idea what's it's like to be told you're not good enough, _mate_…" I stood up from my bed, grabbed my jacket, and headed for the bunk door, leaving Artie behind.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"For a walk."


	7. Undercover

***There is one thing you HAVE to know about me if you read my stories, that I am the most indecisive human on the planet. So that being said, I'm changing Marty's FC back to Emilia Clarke because I realized I love her and yeah. Also, this plot is a bit tricky so if I don't update at the right time it's because I'm re-writing/plotting/re-thinking things. I JUST WANT IT TO BE GOOD! Okay I'm done talking, go read :) -Noor xx***

**Marty**

What Artie said last night really cut me deep. He basically told me, straight to my face, that I still wasn't good enough to go on a mission. After putting Joey in such a bad situation, after all that training, after all the self-doubt and re-determination he dare tell me that I still wasn't good enough? I guess I couldn't really blame him, he thought I was like any other soldier. He thought I had taken a physical exam, passed, and the rest was history, but it wasn't. He would never know how much I was truly going through…but I was still angry with him.

The day after that night I kept to myself, I didn't really talk to Artie. I kept my distance at training and during meals. A part of me was thinking maybe I was being too cruel to him. He was only trying to help me; he didn't know that I was going through so much. I was struggling under the stress of keeping my cover and handling the shock of seeing Bucky again. It was a lot to have on my shoulders, but this is what I signed up for, right?

Meanwhile the word that Captain Roger's team was heading off for their first mission to destroy HYDRA's bases was going to take action in a couple of days was circulating around the base. This shoved my already gloomy mood even deeper into the ground. I was, to be brutally honest, feeling like a complete loser. After training and dinner I headed down to the bar. I needed to get my mind off things just for a little. I hoped a drink or two would help clear my mind a bit.

I walked over to the bar alone, ordered a beer, and sat on a stool by my lonesome. Men from the army were everywhere, drinking, laughing, trying to pick up dames that they would only dream about having. I just sat, chugging away at my beer when a loud group of laughter rang out in the bar. I looked behind my shoulder to find five men sitting, pints in their hands, and smiles on their faces. Of course, it was Captain Rogers and his team of "good enough" soldiers. I noticed Bucky wasn't there, but I was too bummed to think about where he might be.

I turned my attention away from them and proceeded to take another swig from my pint, but it was empty. I groaned, pulled out a few crumpled dollars from my pockets, and dropped it on the counter. "Keep the change," I said to the man behind the counter. I was sick of today, I decided it would better to just go take a shower and turn in. It was too early for anyone to be in the bunk now; I could probably unwrap myself freely without worrying. So, I got of my stool, gave the man behind the counter a quick small smile, and walked out of the bar and towards my bunk.

**Steve**

"To Captain Rogers and his kindness for opening up a tab for us!" Tim, or "Dum Dum" Dugan said raising his pint up in the air for a toast. He was just one of the men on my team. He was a wild one, but he was a good soldier and a good man. The rest of the men at the table raised their pints.

"To Cap!" they said, clunking their pints together.

"I _didn't_ open a tab for you guys," I said, chuckling.

"Well, could you?" Dum Dum asked, taking a long swig from his pint, the beer dripping down his ginger beard.

"Why not?" I said with a smile, nodding my head.

"That was easy," Dum Dum said, nudging another one of my men in the arm, giving a hardy laugh. I stood up and took the empty pints from the table to the counter and ordered another round for the men, before returning to the table. I didn't mind opening a tab for them. The men should enjoy themselves before we get down to business. In a couple days we would be heading out on our first official mission to a HYDRA base.

It was very, very soon, but we were ready. General Philips and Mr. Stark have been getting the men and me ready ever since we returned from Austria. Stark managed to make me a new shield. The shield's round, made out of something called vibranium. I haven't really got a chance to really get used to it, but I'll have my chance in a couple of days. I also designed a new outfit. The outfit I wore while doing all those shows on stage was a bit…embarrassing, but it grew on me. So, I designed a new one more suited for battle. It's definitely a lot more comfortable than those tights.

I took the men's empty pints in my hand, and ordered them another round. I returned to my seat, and then it hit me. Bucky wasn't with us, now that I thought of it, I hadn't seen him since this morning. "Hey, anyone seen Bucky today?" I asked, out of the blue. The men shook their heads and shrugged as their drinks came; the cups brimmed with thick white fuzz. "I'll be right back." I said, "Gonna go look for him." I got up, leaving the men to their drinks. He might be in his bunk, it couldn't hurt to check.

"To Captain!" I heard Dum Dum chant again from behind my back.

"To Captain!" the men repeated.

"And to beer!" Dum Dum added.

"Beer!"

I chuckled to myself as I left the bar. I walked towards the bunks, my hands deep in the pockets of my service suit, and began whistling a tune I heard earlier that day. I realized that I didn't even know which bunk was Bucky's. I was pretty new to this base; I hadn't really gotten a chance to learn my way around. I hardly ever spent time at the bunks anyways. Since I returned from Austria, General Philips has had me busy with him. I decided I should probably go and knock on the bunks to see if Bucky was in any of them. It was pretty early for anyone to be asleep, but all the lights were turned off in them, and maybe Bucky was feeling a bit worn out from his injuries that he turned in early.

With the possibility of maybe finding him still awake I began checking the bunks, but after checking three that were all empty I figured I better give it a rest. Maybe Bucky was in the clinic or something? I was about to turn around and head towards the infirmaries, but a light caught my eye. It was from a fourth bunk, one I hadn't checked. It seemed like someone was in there. It couldn't hurt to check, could it? I strolled up to the bunk, I was about to run my knuckles across the door, but then I noticed a thin strip of light seeping through a small crack. The door was slightly opened, unlocked. I took one of my hands out pocket and pushed the door open fully. I took one step into the bunk; my jaw hit the floor.

Standing in front of me was a woman. She was familiar, with short brown hair….oh, and she was pretty much naked. She wasn't wearing a shirt, or anything really for that matter. I quickly directed my eyes away from her…lady parts and up at her surprised face. "Well get out!" She said urgently. I tore my eyes away from her, quickly stepped out of the bunk, and closed the door behind me. "Ever heard of knocking, Cap?!" I heard her shout from inside the bunk. I felt the blood rush to my face, my cheeks burned up feverishly, and my heart was beating at the speed of sound.

"I-I'm so sorry, Ma'am," I stammered, nervously.

"Sorry, huh?" Her voice spoke again.

"I-I thought…" I sputtered, trying to find the right words to explain myself but my mouth had gone dry. I ran a sweaty palm through my hair, trying to un-see what I just saw.

Then the door opened again, and I found the woman's small hand reaching for my jacket collar. "Whoa," I said, as she grabbed hold of my tie and pulled me forcefully into the room. She led me down the isle of unmade, messy beds; I was leaning down slightly due to our height difference. I didn't know what was going on, but I was relieved to find that she was actually wearing some clothes.

"Sit," she said hastily, pushing me down on one of the beds and releasing my tie. She rushed over to the door and locked it. I was beginning to get really nervous; I had never been alone with a woman like this before.

"Uh...I swear I had no idea you were you know…," I cleared my throat nervously, keeping my eyes locked on the floor despite the fact that she was wearing clothes. "…I wasn't trying to be rude or anything it's just—."

"Shh," she said cutting me off, pressing her ear to the door.

I immediately shut my mouth and watched her back as she listened intensely to…well I had no idea what she was listening to. A few moments of silence passed, and then she stepped back from the door, released a sigh of relief, and turned to me.

"Good; we're alone. Sorry about pulling you in like that, I just didn't want anyone to see us." she said casually, starting up the whole uneasy chaos inside of me again.

"Uh, why wouldn't you want…I mean why would it matter if anyone saw…?" I was rambling; I quickly shook my head, "Are you lost, Ma'am?" The words spilled out of my mouth randomly, not making sense with what I was saying before at all. She looked at me oddly for a moment.

"No…" She shook her head slowly, looking straight at me, and then her eyes landed on my chest. "Look at you."

"What?" I said immediately, looking down at myself self-consciously.

"Your tie, I ruined it," She walked over to me and began fixing my tie. A look of concentration on her face as she tucked it back into place. I found myself growing hot again; my eye level was at her chest. I quickly looked up at her face, her freakishly familiar face.

It's like I had seen her before, I knew those eyes, those lips, but I couldn't exactly put my finger on it. "I'm sorry, but do I know you from somewhere?" I asked as she was finishing up, smoothing out my tie. She sighed and plopped down on the bed across from mine.

"Damn it…" she whispered to herself. There was a short silence, and then she spoke in a defeated kind of tone, "Steve, it's me, Marty Barnes?"

It was an instant click. Of course, Marty, Bucky's sister. I had only met her once but how on Earth could you forget someone like Marty? My one and only encounter with her was about three years ago. She looked older now, mature, and her hair was not the long curliness I remembered. It was short now, a man's haircut almost. "Oh, hi" I said, giving her a small smile. "I barley recognized you."

"Trust me, I know what you mean," she said, gesturing to my upper body. "You've been working out?"

"Sort of," I said, rubbing the back of neck and giving a shrug. "Bucky didn't tell me you were here."

"That's because…Bucky doesn't know I'm here," she said, biting her lip. I raised an eyebrow, confused.

"Wait, why _are _you here?" I asked. There something fishy was going on.

"Steve I'm…" she shook her head, "I can't believe this is happening. I'm…here undercover."


	8. Good Enough

**_*Okay, so your reviews got me really hyped up! There will be lots of healthy drama and I'm looking forward to writing it all :) The plot is really getting started now! Enjoy number 8, lovelies! -Noor xx*_  
**

**Steve**

Undercover, what did that mean? What was she undercover as and why did she have to go undercover to be it? A million questions ran through my head. All of this was so strange. The barging in on Marty changing, the fact she was in Italy, everything was just so bizarre. It felt surreal, almost. "Wait, wait," I said, trying to get my head on straight, "What are you undercover for?" I asked her. The look on her face looked like had been hiding a terrible secret, did I even want anything to do with her? What if I was getting myself into trouble?

"If I tell you, you have to swear to keep it a secret," she said, looking at me with all seriousness.

"I can't promise you anything," I said, firmly. She continued to eat away her lip, lines of anxiety on her small face. Another moment of silence came, "So?"

"Okay," she said quietly, "I'm undercover as a…a soldier." She whispered, her eyes moving from the dusty wooden floor to my own.

Suddenly it all made sense. The needing us to be alone, her men's haircut, the fact Bucky didn't know that she was here; it only made sense that she was undercover as a soldier, but it was wrong, illegal. My face went hard, and I could tell that my sudden change in expression startled Marty because her eyes widened. "This is against the law," I said, in a stern tone, standing up off the bed and looking down at her.

"I know, but...I _had_ to you don't understand," she stressed, standing up as well, needing to look up at me because of the height difference.

"You aren't supposed to be here," I said, shaking my head.

"Please, Captain," she released a deep breath as if trying to calm herself down, "Just let me explain." It seemed as though I was frustrating her. I should probably give her a chance to tell me her side of the story.

"I'm sorry, go ahead," I said in a softer tone, relaxing my face.

"You might wanna sit down for this," she said, sitting back down on the bed. I didn't object, I sat back down on the bed across from her and gave her my undivided attention. "Okay," she began, and I was beginning to get very anxious to hear her explain. "I'll start at the beginning; ever since Bucky joined the army I started to think differently. At first, I thought he was being reckless for going, he was putting himself right in harm's way; I was worried about him. He's my only brother why wouldn't I be? Then, it clicked." She was starting to get spaced out, staring at the wooden floor. "I realized that Bucky wasn't doing it to be reckless or wild, he enlisted because…because he had a duty. It was his job to protect people, to get rid of the bad guys. And I thought, you know if Bucky's got a job to get done in the war then so do I, but I couldn't do my job because of my gender. Do you even know how frustrated I've been ever since he left for the army?" She asked suddenly, looking up from the floor and at me. I just shook my head, listening intensely to what she had to say. "Well, I was really frustrated. Anyways, I thought it was a hopeless case, I knew I would never get here, in the war, but then I got a condolence letter from General Philips, telling me that Bucky was dead. I lost it, I was so sick of being told that I wasn't fit for war…that I wasn't good enough," She continued, but I didn't need to hear anymore.

To me, Marty had just justified herself completely. She didn't have to explain a single word further, I understood. I was her not too long ago; I was that little guy from Brooklyn who couldn't throw a decent punch, who memorized almost every ally in Brooklyn because of how many times he had been beaten up in them. I was the guy who had a dictionary full of conditions that wouldn't let me enlist. I was told straight to my face that I wasn't good enough over and over again. What kind of man would I be if I turned Marty in to the police? I'd be a hypocrite.

"So, I got a buddy of mine to take the physical exam, he passed, and I took his name. I've been keeping my cover just fine until you barged in, but yeah there you have it. I'm here to prove myself, Captain, but I don't expect a hotshot like you understand what it's like…" she trailed off, playing with her fingers, her eyes glued to the floor.

But I did understand, I understood completely, "Don't be so sure," I said, cocking my head slightly. Her head shot up, and she looked at me with great confusion. "I _do_ know what it's like. You remember how I used to look, right?" I asked, and she nodded her head. "Every time I would try to enlist they'd just turn me down. I broke the law a couple times I'll admit…" I said, scratching the back of my head, embarrassed for how I sort of snapped at her before for doing something illegal. She crossed her arms and tilted her head.

"Is that so?" she said curtly.

"Yes, but that's not the point," I retorted, waving my hands in front of me. "Anyways, there was a scientist; he had this crazy idea to make a super soldier. According to him I was the best guy to test out his soldier serum. It was my only way into the army, I couldn't say no. So, they took me in, gave me a few shots and yeah…goodbye chicken legs I guess."

Marty's serious expression softened, a smile formed on her lips. Her eyes went wide, she looked fascinated, "Wow…all this was science?" she whispered, her eyes wandering down to my chest and arms. "That's pretty neat, Captain."

"Yeah?" I said, not being able to fight a smile myself.

"You bet," she said, nodding her head slowly.

Marty struck a nerve in me. It was pretty admirable, how much trouble she went through to get here. She had earned my respect, and she deserved it. "Don't worry, Ma'am. Your secret's safe with me."

"Thank you," she said looking back at my face. She seemed touched but mostly relieved. Something tells me that even if I was going to turn her into the police that she wouldn't have taken no for an answer. Marty Barnes wasn't going anywhere, was she?

"What do they call you here?" I asked.

"Joey Brooks, don't forget it now," she warned, "This is serious business, Captain."

"Got it," I said nodding my head, assuring her I wasn't going to slip up. "Well," I said after a short silence, "I'll let you get back to um…whatever it is you were doing, Ma'am." I said standing up, feeling my cheeks burn up again as the mental image of her changing snuck back into my thoughts.

"Right," she said, giving me a small smile. I returned it and began making my way to the door. "Captain, wait." She said suddenly, I stopped dead and turned around to face her.

"Yes?" I answered her, curiously.

"Can I ask you something?"

**Marty**

I know what you're about to say. I get it, for someone who's keeping their identity undercover I was pretty stupid to leave the bunk door unlocked…you don't have to say anything.

I was beginning to think I had just made a huge mistake by telling Captain Rogers the truth, but I couldn't help but feel as though a weight, a burden almost had been lifted off my shoulders. It felt kind of refreshing for someone to know who I really was. It felt somewhat lonely, being the only one knowing. I guess if anyone was going to find out I was sure as hell glad it was Captain Rogers. I had no idea that we had been in the same situation before. Now I knew I could trust him, he understood me and I understood him. We were in an alliance now, in cahoots.

Plus, this is my perfect chance to ask him about letting me on his team. I know I might be taking advantage of him, but I had to do what I had to do. I stood up from the bed. "Captain, I want to be on your team." I spoke with all confidence, my hands on my hips, my head up high. He stared at me for a moment.

"On the HYDRA missions?"

"Those are the ones," I said, nodding my head a single time.

"You sure you're ready for that kind of battle?" he asked me, looking concerned.

"I've been ready for a long time, Captain." I dropped my hands. "I know Bucky's on the team and it could be tricky, and I know that Philips isn't all for me tagging along, but I didn't come here to train on a base for the whole war I came here to prove myself and get something done. I'm sorry Captain but I'm not taking no for a—."

"The first mission's in two days, Brooks." He cut me off, a sweet smile on his lips. "You better suit up, soldier."

I tried to keep my face serious, but I couldn't help it. My lips twitched upward into a small smile, "Yes sir." I couldn't stop the exciting sensation that spread through my body. Happiness swelled in my chest, I wanted to jump with joy, hug Captain, but something told me that if I laid a finger on that man he might turn into a tomato again. I just couldn't believe it; I was actually going on a mission. I was on Captain Rogers' team now. I made it.

"Goodnight," he said, opening the bunk door, but before he could step out I called him back again.

"Captain," I said, hurriedly. He peered over his broad shoulder.

"Yes?" He said patiently.

"Thank you…for saving my brother," I said, realizing I never got a chance to thank him before.

"You're welcome," he replied in his deep voice, smiling again.

"Goodnight, Captain."

"Goodnight."


	9. Captain Rogers' Team

**_*I love people. No I love YOU people. Your reviews get me so hyped, so thank you for taking the time out of your day to read and review. You are awesome :) Okie dokie, well here's number 9! Hope you like*  
_**

**Marty**

I followed Captain Rogers between the busy workers of the base's main command center. They stamped, signed, and sealed documents. They drew on huge realistic maps and answered phone calls. It was the heart of all the action here; it was like a huge generator that powered the whole base. I had never stepped foot in the command center, but Steve seemed to know his way around just fine. I didn't expect anything less from a Captain; this was probably like a second home to him. We made our way through the workers in uniform, quietly, until we reached a door that read,

_General Chester Philips_

Steve turned around to face me, looking down at my smaller figure. "Okay, just follow my lead," he said, nodding his head slowly. We were here to break the news to the general, the news that Captain Rogers decided to add a man to his to team, and that man was me.

"Got it, boss," I nodded my head in agreement. Steve turned around and ran his knuckles gently across the wooden door of the general's office.

"Come in," Philips' assertive voice rang out from the opposite side. Steve turned the door knob and swung open the door.

"Hello sir," Steve said, saluting the general, standing up straight with his chest out, chin up.

Gosh, I never showed general Philips this much respect, mostly because he told me I wasn't authorized to go on the HYDRA missions, but he ticked me off anyways. A constant tone of ridicule seemed to linger on his tongue, he was sarcastic, cold, but despite my feeling towards the man I raised my right hand to my forehead and saluted him as well; I told Cap I'd follow his lead. I even put on my camouflage uniform extra neatly today, hat and all, just to soften up the general. Though I'm pretty sure it was too late for him to start liking me.

As soon as the general's eyes landed on me his face dropped. He didn't look very happy to see me at all. He was probably wondering why on Earth I was in his office, but he would know why now, "What do you want, Rogers? I'm busy." The general said, and it was only then that I noticed how cluttered his desk was. The general was buried in papers, documents, and maps.

"Sorry to bother you, Sir. I just wanted to tell you that I've made an addition to the main team," Steve said, making my heart jump excitedly at those words.

"Well, who the hell is he?" Philips asked, flatly.

"This man right here, Joey Brooks," Steve replied confidently. The general's already displeased face dropped even lower than it was before.

"Jesus Christ, Rogers," Philips exclaimed, suddenly slamming his papers down on his desk, making me jump, "Out of all of the men here…" he said shaking his eyes, giving me an evil glare. He really did hate me, huh?

"I have my reasons, Sir," Steve in the same calm, collected tone though he looked taken aback by the general's reaction.

"Please _Captain_, do tell," The general said curtly, folding his arms over the chest his badge baring jacket.

I felt nervous at these words. The only reason Steve was letting me on this team was because I was a woman, because I told him my story, because I was his best friends sister. What was he supposed to tell the general? Steve didn't know a thing about me…not a thing.

"He's quick on his feet, Sir. I've seen him run, he could come in handy," Steve retorted, his words surprising me.

How did he know I was a runner? I racked my brain for any instance that could've lead to him knowing. Did he see me training? Did Bucky tell him? I looked up at Steve, trying to hide the curiosity in my face so the general wouldn't notice.

"I don't care what the hell he's good at. He's an ass kisser, a god damn rookie! I bet he can't even shoot a gun—." The general began his very boring, very untrue rant.

"With all due respect, general," Steve cut him off, "I use a shield in combat, and I'm a Captain. I think whether or not he can shoot a gun is totally unnecessary."

"And what if I say no?" The general said in a deep threatening tone, leaning over his mountain of papers.

"You can't say no, I'm the Captain," Steve said, shocking me more than anything. The general's lip twitched upward.

"Captain, huh?" Philips said, laughing softly through his nose. "Why do I care?" The general said, turning his attention to me, "Just don't say I didn't warn you, Rogers," he was speaking to Steve but his eyes were locked intensely on mine. So intensely I felt as though he was seeing past my disguise, to the Marty behind the uniform, reading my thoughts. I felt exposed, but I didn't dare move my gaze because the general, for once, didn't have a say in something and it felt good. This thought made me smirk a little, and as my lips twitched upward the general's face dropped once again.

"Thank you, General," Steve said.

"Sir," I said in the kindest most respectful tone I could possibly voice just to tick Philips off. I kept my eyes locked on the general's as I saluted him once more.

"Let's go," Steve said to me, nodding his head in the direction of the door.

I ceased my glaring at the general, but even as I turned on the heels of my combat boots and followed Cap out of the office I could still feel Philips' hateful eyes glued to the back of my head. Steve and I walked out of the office, closing the door gently behind us. Steve released a deep breath, his hands on his hips. "You never mentioned that Philips…you know?" he said, shrugging.

"Hated me with every cell in his body?" I suggested a smirk still on my lips.

"Yeah…sort of," Steve replied, sheepishly.

"I did say he wasn't all for me being on the team, didn't I?" I said in defense.

"Well that was an understatement— why are you smiling?" he asked suddenly.

"Because Captain, Philips was the person who first told me that I wasn't eligible to be on your team, but for once he didn't have a say in what was happening. It's kinda fulfilling you know, to see the old timer defenseless against the final word.

"Ma'am," Steve whispered, looking left and right to see if anyone was listening in on us. "You shouldn't talk like that about the general, I'll admit he can a little opinionated—."

"You mean rude?"

"No, he's just a little—."

"Cold hearted, a bastard – I know Cap, trust me." I said indifferent by what he was trying to get across to me. He was wasting his time. I didn't like General Philips and I never would; the end.

Steve sighed in defeat. "Come on, let's get out of here," he said, leading the way through the bustling workers of the command center once again.

I followed Steve out of the building, a few people greeted him enthusiastically on the way out, completely ignoring my existence completely, but that was okay. I had gotten what I wanted. We now walked outside of the command center, awkwardly. We were in complete silence, his hands deep inside the pockets of his service suit and mine swaying lazily at my sides. What were we supposed to say? We barely knew each other after all. I racked my brain for something we had in common, something to talk about. Then it hit me, the reason we knew each other was because of Bucky. He was my brother and Steve's best friend. "So, Cap, um…when do I meet the rest of the guys?" I asked, getting his immediate attention.

"We could go meet them tonight," he said, and I felt my stomach toss nervously. Why did I bring this up? Gosh I was so stupid! I wasn't ready to see Bucky up close yet. The whole time I was trying to get on Steve's team I was shoving this thought into the back of my mind, dreading the instant where I would have to go up to my supposedly dead brother, shake his hand, and introduce myself as a complete stranger.

"Tonight?" I said, the tone of anxiety lingering more heavily on my words than intended. I was in no position to be complaining. This was what I signed up for, I would have to see my brother eventually, and I would have to face him sooner or later.

"If that's okay with you, yes," he replied, stopping in his tracks.

I stopped walking also, and nodded my head hesitantly, "Sounds like a plan."

My first kiss, the first day of high school, taking Joey to the physical exams, my first plane ride – none of these thing were nearly as nerve racking than this very moment, and it was strange because Bucky was my brother. My palms shouldn't be sweaty right now; my heart shouldn't be beating in my throat. I should be completely relaxed, casual, but no matter how many deep breaths of Italian air I took in and gave out I just couldn't untie the constricted knot in my stomach.

"Are you okay?" the captain's kind voice spoke, pulling me out of the nervous wreck I was in.

"Yeah," I spoke as confidently as I could, though my voice had cracked, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"No reason it's just…" his eyes wandered down to my shaking hands, "nothing."

He saw right through me. Damn.

The sun had set on the massive base, leaving the sky a dusky dark blue. I looked up, the stars twinkled proudly. It seemed so peaceful up there, in the sky, and a big part of me wished I could take of like a plane and jet off into the starry atmosphere and away from this stomach wrenching moment I would have to face right now.

The jingle of the bar's door sent me crashing back down to the Earth and away from my twinkling paradise. "After you," Steve said, holding the door open for me.

This was where the team was, drinking, enjoying their last day on the base before the HYDRA missions. I tried to swallow down my rapidly beating heart, but it was lodged tightly in my throat. I released a deep breath, facing reality, and walked into the bar. Steve came in after me. The door closed behind us and Steve took the lead once again. We walked down tables and tables of army men, drinking away, smiling joyously; sometimes I forgot there was an actual war going on and that people were being killed at this very minute. It was a pretty dark thing to think in such a happy environment, but I was in a pessimistic mood, what can I say?

We walked past a few more tables and then our table came into sight. Seated at the table were five men; a ginger, an Asian, a black guy, a small man (he seemed French maybe), and then my eyes landed on the last man. The familiar one, the one that sent my nerves into a frenzy; it was Bucky, it was my brother. We approached them, I clenched my jaw tight, trying to stop my hands from shaking, but it was no use. I just stood, praying that he wouldn't recognize me.

"Aye Captain!" The ginger said loudly, smiling up at Steve from his seat.

"Hey guys," Steve said, giving them a smile. "I'd like to introduce you to someone."

I tried to swallow my heart down, but it was caught in my throat, beating loudly, dangerously.

"This is Joey Brooks, the newest addition to our team," Steve said, reminding me that I had to play it cool, Bucky couldn't figure out who I was.

I forced my nerves to calm. Bucky and the men at the table looked at me curiously, probably wondering why their "oh so clever and wise captain" had picked a woman – I mean a man like me to join the team. "Fellas," I said, greeting them. Their looks of curiosity stopped and they all began reaching out their hands for me to shake, all introducing themselves. But there was one man's look of curiosity that didn't stop. Bucky's. I could see it in his eyes, he thought I looked familiar; he was looking at me so intensely, scrutinizing my face. He extended his hand out for me to shake. I hesitated before taking Bucky's hand. I thought that he might recognize me from my touch, but that was crazy.

"The name's Bucky…Bucky Barnes, pleasure," he said, absentmindedly, looking distracted. He could see me, he could really _see_ me. I had to play it off as nothing…

"Nice to meet you," I said, as casually as my quivering voice could muster. We shook hands, my brother's familiar touch was like a time machine, sending back to our childhood, the day he enlisted, our memories. I wanted nothing more but to hug him, the brother I believed to be dead, the brother that was supposed to be lying cold on a battlefield somewhere in Austria, but I couldn't…my plan was working too well for me to just throw it away so easily.

"Well," Steve's voice spoke, causing Bucky and I to realize we had been shaking hands for quite some time, "Welcome to the team, Joey."

I quickly released my brother's hand, directing my gaze elsewhere. Bucky did the same; he probably thought he was going crazy, I knew him. I just had to keep my distance from him, no matter how badly I wanted to tell Bucky who I was, I couldn't. I just hoped Steve could keep a secret too.


	10. HYDRA's Visitors

**_*I know this is a little late but the internet SUCKS here :/ Anyways here it is, number 10. Hope you like it and don't forget to leave a review...you probably won't leave one...purposely...haha okay go read because Marty's going on her first mission guise!*_  
**

**Marty**

Everything was so surreal. I couldn't wrap my head around it. In less than 20 minutes I would be on my way to the first HYDRA base mission. I looked deeply into the mirror; Marty Barnes looked back at me. She seemed nervous, edgy, but her jaw was clenched tight in determination, and her mind was set on one thing; she was going to take out the bad guys tonight. Though I may be disguised as a man I was going to fight with my heart, and at heart I'm Marty Barnes, a woman.

I was ready, dressed fully in uniform. I decided to skip the hat, it didn't suit me well. I just pulled on my camouflage pants, my white shirt, and my combat boots. I was all set, but something was missing, something I knew leaving behind would tear me apart. Then it hit me, my bandanna. The bandanna I had found in my mother's room. I never went anywhere without it, and I certainly wasn't going to go to war without it.

I immediately walked over to my bed and bent down. I reached my hand down under it and pulled out my bag. I sat on my knees and unzipped the bag, rummaging through the pile of clothes, a smelly mix of dirty and clean army uniforms, but I didn't care. One time Bucky told me I was more like a guy than he was. At the time I was offended, but now it just made me smile. It was funny…and probably true. I dug through the mountain of clothes (which I was surprised actually fit in my tiny bag to be honest) until I finally spotted the red, white, and blue pattern of my mother's bandanna. I pulled it out from under the clothes, zipped up the bag, and slid it back under the bed.

I stood up off the floor and walked back over to the mirror, raising my hands up to my head to tie the bandanna but then I remembered. Only women tied bandannas on their head. I sighed, dropping my hands. I clicked my tongue loudly in my mouth, thinking. Where was I supposed to tie it? I tried it on my wrist, my ankle, around my neck, but it all looked wrong. Then I had an idea, I smoothed bandanna out and folded its star spangled pattern neatly, then wrapped it around my right upper arm. I tied a knot single handedly then titled my head down to tighten it with my teeth. I looked up at the mirror; the bandanna looked good on my arm. I smiled to myself, even made me look a little manly.

Just then the door of the bunk opened, and in came a curly haired man, a light beard on his familiar face. It was Artie. We haven't talked since the night before Captain Rogers found me changing. I looked at him through the mirror. "Brooks, fancy seeing you here," he said in his proper British accent, closing the door behind him.

"Not really," I said, quietly, turning around.

"So you got on the team, I hear," he said, nodding his head slowly.

"Yes," I said, casually.

"Guess you _were_ the right man for the job." He said, giving me a small smile.

"Guess so," I said, looking away from him and instead going over to bed to pull my jacket on.

There was a short silence, "I'm sorry," he said.

"For?" I asked, though I knew exactly why. I just wanted to hear him say it.

"For doubting you," he sounded sincere.

I finished slipping on my jacket and looked back over to him, and sighed. "It's okay."

His face softened. "So where's the first mission?"

"Here, in Italy. There's a HYDRA base not far off from here." I said, taking one last look at myself in the mirror.

"Wow…" he said, running a hand through his curls. "There are a lot of men going on this mission, you know? Not just the main team."

"I know, trust me. We've got over a one hundred men coming with us," I said, the sudden realization of how big the situation hitting me for the first time. This was a war, I was going to _war._

Artie nodded his head slowly, "You be careful out there, Joey."

I couldn't fight the smile, "I will, who's supposed to prove you wrong if I'm not around?" I asked, smirking.

He chuckled, "Very funny, just don't get you killed."

"I'll try my best," I said, half-laughing.

Just then the door swung open, standing at the door frame was Jim Morita. He was one of the men on Cap's main team. I met him last night at the bar. "Brooks, it's go time," he said, urgently. My heart began to skip beats.

"Right, give me a second," I said, nodding my head. Jim nodded his head a single time, took a quick look at Artie, then left the bunk.

"Go get them, Joey," Artie said after a short silence, looking uneasy. He was actually worrying about me? Wow, guess I was his only friend here.

"You got it," I said, smiling and we shook hands, but a part of me was telling me that if I died tonight that shaking hands was not the way to say goodbye to my first army friend. So, I gave the guy a hug, the manliest hug I could give. I knew it meant a lot to Artie, it meant a lot to both of us.

I looked up at the clock on the wall; I had less than 10 minutes now. "Okay, well duty calls," I said, giving Artie a small smile.

"Good luck," he said, nodding his head.

I did the same and then after taking one last look at Artie, which could easily be my last, I walked out of the bunk, out into the breezy evening air, and towards where the tanks were parked. Men piled over each other. This was the first serious attack and the atmosphere was tense and determined. I scanned the large crowd of fellow soldiers for the main team, and then my eyes landed on Captain Rogers. He wasn't dressed like the rest of us. He was wearing a blue outfit; it looked like a costume almost with its large silver star on the chest and red and blue stripes. He also had a head piece on the front a big "A" was written in white. Suddenly I had the tune of "The Star Spangled Man" stuck in my head.

With a slight smirk on my lips I marched over to the team, my eyes fixed on Captain, "Nice get up, Cap," I said, nodding my head slowly.

He eyes widened as he looked down at his outfit, "Oh, thank you," he said, smiling shyly.

I released a deep breath, looking to the other men, avoiding my brother's eyes. "Evenin' fellas," I greeted them.

"Hey Brooks," Bucky and the men spoke, dressed in their camouflage as well, guns held tightly in their hands.

"Joey," Bucky's voice said, and my heart froze in my tightly wrapped chest. I hesitantly turned my attention to my brother.

"Yeah," I said, trying not to meet his eyes.

"Here, you might need this," he said, tossing me a gun out of the blue.

It nearly fell to the dirt floor, but I caught just in time. "Thanks," I said, holding on to it tightly, looking away from my brother as quickly as I could. This was going to be harder than I thought…

"Alright, let's move," Steve said, giving me something to focus on rather than Bucky.

Without another second to lose, the men started piling into tanks. We, the main team, began hopping into our own tank. Captain was the last to get in, and he shut the heavy circular door above our heads as he did. It was rather small in the tank. I mean it fit the whole team very comfortably, but it wasn't big enough for me to escape my brother. I just stayed close to the only person I didn't have to pretend so much in front of; Captain.

I tucked the gun that Bucky had tossed at me before into the gun holder at my waist. I moved away from Bucky and planted myself beside the tall star spangled man. He glanced down at me, his greenish eyes meeting mine for a short moment. I showed him a small smile, which he returned subtly. He was pretty shy for such a big guy, but after all he wasn't always that big.

The metal of the tank began to rumble loudly, I felt the wheels; the gigantic thick wheels of the tank begin to turn. It was time. The tank moved quickly over the Italian dirt road. The ride was bumpy, the team and I were practically being thrown around the tank, but they seemed a lot more used to it than I was. They remained still, listening closely as Captain Rogers explained the battle plan. I tried my best to listen to every word, but I was a little busy holding on to the walls of the tank for dear life. The plan was detailed, long, but all I could think about was kicking HYDRA's ass and kicking it good. I could do that. In fact, I would be more than glad to do that.

Before I knew it the tank had come to an abrupt halt, causing me to nearly fall over on my face, but I grabbed onto one of the walls just in time.

The team and I stood in the tank, motionless. For a moment, everything outside the tank was still, silent. I could hear nothing but the nearly inaudible sound of the team's steady breathing…and then the adrenaline surging sound of pure chaos reached my ears from behind the thick walls of the tank. The war had begun.

"Okay, let's go!" Captain exclaimed.

I grasped the gun from my waist, holding on to it so tightly my knuckles went white. We had arrived at the HYDRA base.

**Inside the HYDRA base in Italy**

The ear-splitting, spine chilling sound of the alarms suddenly echoed out through the base. Doctor Zola was seated at his lab; he had just nearly completed the re-making of the super soldier serum. He had reached near perfection. The doctor's heart was beating at an unhealthy rate as he hopped off his working stool. He rushed out of his lab, not surprised to see the HYDRA soldiers racing down the never-ending hallways of the base, the Tesseracts's energy powering the weapons in their leather gloved hands. This could mean only one thing…

Without a second thought the doctor ran back into his lab, he would have to gather his things, the nearly completed serum. He couldn't lose his serum, not when he was so close. If he lost it, Schmidt, the HYDRA leader, would have his head. The doctor would have to complete the serum somewhere else.

HYDRA had visitors.


	11. The Test Tube

**_* I want to apologize deeply for the late update. It's just that I'm going through a pretty tough time right now. You see, I recently moved from the states to a new country. School started up a few days ago and I've been really busy trying to get used to the new environment and get myself settled. I haven't been getting very much sleep and my mind's just been with other things, but I promise I will find more time for this story. Thank you for understanding, I'm sorry again! Oh and this is my first time writing an action chapter so please if it sucks I know but I'm sure I'll improve after some experience with this particular genre. Enjoy :) -Noor xx*_**

**Marty**

My chest heaved up and down as heavy breaths escaped my lips. I had my back up against a wall of a tank, I wasn't sure if it was an American tank or a HYDRA one, but I was too busy to care. I had just dived behind this tank for cover; a HYDRA had just aimed his gun at me fired and away. The glowing blue minerals nearly severed my skin, but I got behind the tank just in time. I peeked out from behind the tank, the HYDRA fired again. I quickly dodged the lethal blow once again. Then, before the HYDRA could pull his trigger another time I stuck my head out again and pulled mine. My bullet hit the HYDRA square in the chest and I saw my masked enemy fall. I felt a twinge of guilt in my chest, but then I remembered the countless number of injured, tortured men who came back that day from Austria with Captain Rogers, and the guilt was gone as quickly as it had come.

The battle had started so fast, everything was moving ten times quicker than it should be, including my heart rate. I kept my back against the cold metal wall of the tank. I had a plan; I needed to get inside the base. Killing HYDRA's men wasn't going to win this war, what America needed was information, dirt on the enemy and I wasn't going to find any of that here in all this chaos. I stuck my head out from behind the heavy machinery; the front doors of the base's main building were about ten yards away. I could run that easily, but the problem was that in those ten yards, between me and that building was a loud, dangerous battle. I considered my options, I could run around the battle, but that would be too risky, I'd stand out too much. I could sneak through the battle, but that was, let's face it, impossible with the conditions. I had only one other option. I swallowed down the little spit I had left in my dry mouth, stood up from the dirt ground, and gripped my gun tightly in my sweaty palm, my right index finger ready at the trigger. I would have to run straight through the madness, there was no other way.

I took in a deep breath, released it, and then took off like a rocket. My feet pounded into the dirt as I raced into the raging battle. The sound of bullets, cries of pain, the sound of bodies hitting the floor. That's all could hear as I zoomed past the men in combat. I managed to make it halfway through the crowd without injury when suddenly a heavy, leather covered hand grabbed me by my shoulder, spinning me around. My eyes went wide as the masked enemy's fist came right at my face, hitting me in the jaw. My back hit the ground, the air was knocked right out of me, but the sudden pain emitting from my soon to be bruised jaw wasn't nearly enough to keep me on the ground. I got back up as quickly as I had fallen, the taste of blood in my mouth now, probably from my lip, and punched the HYDRA right in the center of his face. He simply stumbled back, but in the spilt moment that it would've have taken him to gain composure I took the butt of my gun and hit him firmly in the head. He fell.

I huffed, taking one last glance at the unconscious HYDRA before darting towards the building once again.

**Steve**

I felt all the muscles in my right arm contract intensely as I threw my shield. It spun, slightly leaning in the air until it reached its target. The HYDRA I was aiming for hit the floor, he was out. My shield came rotating back to me. I slid my hand into the slot as quickly as I could because another HYDRA had just come at me, and this time he had a gun. I raised my shield, blocking his attack. Then, I grabbed my shield and took him out just like his friend. I looked up from the floor, my breaths getting heavier by the minute. I quickly scanned the battlefield; this battle was intense, more intense than the one back in Austria. Just as I was about to get my focus back on combat something – more like someone – caught my eye. This person was running through the crowd, a gun in their hand, blood on their lip. They ran quickly, the fastest I've ever seen. Wait, there was only person I knew who could run like that; Marty.

Where was she running to? I followed her with my eyes….she ran…and ran. Then, she reached the main building of the base, pulled open the door, and hurried on in. What was she doing? This wasn't the plan.

My body moved on its own. I found myself running towards the building after her. A sudden impulse to keep her safe took over me. Was it because she was my best friend's sister or because she was a woman? No, it wasn't either. It was because she was a fellow soldier. Marty was part of my team, and we stick together.

**Marty**

The loud alarms pieced my ears as fresh sweat trickled down my nose, a drop settling on its tip. I wiped it away with my hand, trying to steady my breathing. I was inside the base now and I had gotten here with minor injuries. Sure my lip was bleeding pretty badly and my jaw ached even worse, but I was virtually fine. I hid behind a wall, planning. I needed to get to where the Tesseract was; maybe I could actually bring it back to the base if I found it.

I peered out into the hall from behind my wall, but quickly hid again when I found a whole bunch of HYDRA soldiers racing down the hall. I waited for the pounding of their heavy rubber boots on the floor to fade before stepping out from behind the wall.

Okay, find the Tesseract…find the Tesseract…

I began walking, slowly and stealthily making my way through the base. I passed by numerous doors, all labeled with something, but it didn't seem like the Tesseract was in any of them. Then I passed a door labeled "Laboratory". This just might be it. I carefully turned the knob of the door; the room was dark except for a single white light. It beamed down on a table, on it laid empty test tubes with blue residue on the inside, papers, notes; someone was working here. I took a look at the notes, it was in German; damn. I decided I better take it, I'm sure there was someone at the base that would be able to translate it. With that, I folded up the notes and slipped them into my pocket.

I left the lab, quietly closing the door behind me and continued exploring the base. I walked down one hall, and despite the loud blaring of the alarms I heard voices and quickly hid behind the nearest wall. I listened.

"I'm very pleased with your work, doctor," The man had a German accent. He was for HYDRA.

"Th-Thank you, sir, ze serum is practically complete," Another voice said, a high pitch, this man was definitely smaller, also German. I could hear the voices getting closer, they were on the move, and they were heading straight for me.

My eyes quickly scanned the hall for a hiding place. Their voices were growing closer by the second. Suddenly I spotted a small store room. Without really thinking about it, I darted over to it, slipped in quietly, and kept the door open just a crack so I could see. Then the two men came hurriedly down the hall. I was right. There was a smaller man and a taller one. My eyes landed on the taller man and my heart stopped for a second. The man's skin was ruby red, his nose was non-existent, and his expression screamed all kinds of danger. I knew this man. The team and I had discussed him a lot, he was the enemy. This crimson man was Johann Schmidt, Red Skull, HYDRA's leader.

I knew the smaller man as well. His name was Zola and he was another often mentioned name back at the base. These guys were bad news. Zola had a briefcase in his hands, papers sticking out messily out of the corners. He must've been in a rush. There was something else in his hand too, a little test tube and in it lay a blue serum swaying side to side as he hurried down the hall. It was similar to the blue residue on the test tubes back in that lab. Something wasn't right about that serum…

I listened closely to their conversation. Johann Schmidt continued, "Excellent, yes, but I'm afraid you'll have to finish it another place."

Suddenly Schmidt stopped dead in his tracks. He had stopped right in front of the store room. Zola stopped as well, looking up at his leader curiously.

"Sir, ve must go. Ze Americans, zey are here!" Zola said anxiously in his German accent.

"Shh…," Schmidt said, placing a finger to his thin lips.

I held my breath, staying as still as a rock, every one of my muscles contracted tightly. I watched the two men through the crack in the door with wide eyes as my wildly beating heart found its way into my throat. There was nothing but the sound of the alarms blaring and I stood motionless as the two men lingered in front of the door.

"Doctor," Schmidt spoke in an eerie voice. Schmidt took a step closer to the store room. The incredibly loud beating of my heart was causing the sound of the alarms to fade out into the background. A drop of sweat fell slowly on my anxious face. Schmidt placed his hand on the door knob, "We have visitors."

The door swung open, hitting the wall behind it with a startling bang. Schmidt's eyes met mine immediately. "A soldier, so nice of you to join us tonight," Schmidt spoke, a smirk on his face. Suddenly, his leather gloved hand found its way to my throat, and he grasped it tightly with a strangely strong grip, practically dragging me out of the room.

He threw me to the ground like a chew toy. My back hit the tile floor sending a sharp pain up my spine. I yelped, my neck aching like a bitch now to be honest. I pushed myself off the floor, my blood boiling with rage. He had made me seem so weak, so pathetic, and I didn't like being made a fool of. "Schmidt," I greeted him, bitterly.

Strangely enough, his face lit up, "American!"

"Damn right I am," I said, wiping the blood on my lip that refused to stop leaking out.

"Proud?" He said, simply.

I nodded my head firmly, tearing my eyes away from Schmidt for a slip second to glance at the strange serum in the frightened Doctor's hand. Whatever that stuff was it looked dangerous. I needed to get my hands on that test tube.

"What's not to be proud of?" I said, brining my attention back to Schmidt though my mind lingered with the doctor.

"Oh, there's a _long_ list, solider. Unfortunately I have no time to stay and chat," and with that the enemy slipped his hand into his long, leather jacket and pulled out a shiny silver gun, the familiar blue lethal glow of the Tesseract energy emitted from it beautifully. But it was only beautiful until he pointed it straight at my face. I quickly reached down to my gun holder to get my weapon but there was no rifle at my waist. I cussed under my breath, it must've dropped outside. I was defenseless now, and if I died up against Schmidt's Tesseract weapon there wouldn't even be my body left behind. I wanted to run, to escape, but I was stubborn and my feet refused to move from their motionless position. What about Bucky…

Schmidt pulled the trigger. I heard energy building inside Schmidt's gun, something forming, something dangerous. Then a miracle happened. A circular object quickly came spinning through the air, the colors red, white, and blue flashed across my vision hitting Schmidt's hand, knocking the gun right out of it. His gun was sent flying across the hall.

"Leave him alone Schmidt." His voice was firm, serious.

My head shot towards him. He stood there with his jaw clenched tight, his shield boomeranging back into his hand. He had a single silver star on his chest and bared a big white "A" on his head. It was none other than The Star Spangled Man with a plan; captain was here.

Schmidt shot Steve an ugly look (which wasn't that hard for someone who looked like_ that_). "Captain," he said, the hatred hanging heavily on the word. "We thought you'd never make it."

I needed to get that test tube, but I also needed a plan. I looked Steve straight in the face, locking my blue eyes with his greenish, hazel ones. Once I got his attention I subtly nodded my head in the direction of Zola and looked down at the test tube in his hands. Steve followed my eyes, looked at me curiously for a short moment, a single eyebrow raised. Then he nodded his head a single time, catching my drift. The captain had read my mind.

"Wouldn't wanna miss the party," Steve said, turning his attention back to Schmidt.

The red skinned man chuckled, "No worries, captain," he said, slipping his hand back into his leather coat, "You're just in time for the main event!" He pulled out a smaller gun, but it looked just as deadly as his last.

It all happened so fast. Schmidt pulled the trigger, aiming at Steve this time. Cap quickly covered his face with his shield, the Tesseracts's deadly energy bouncing off of it and hitting the wall instead. Then I saw Zola grasp his briefcase and test tube tighter in his small, shaking hands and take off down the hallway in an escape. Steve looked at me from behind his shield, throwing me a gun from his waist, "Go get Zola! I'll hold him off!" He said, valiantly thrusting his shield back into the air at towards Schmidt's head.

"Right," I said, catching the gun. I gave him a firm look before darting off after Zola.

I raced down the hall, Zola's small figure just a couple yards away from me as he ran for an escape door. I stopped abruptly and instead aimed the gun at the doctor and fired once; missed. I fired a second time, it nearly got his shoulder, but it still missed. Then I fired a third time, aiming for his right foot this time. The doctor cried out in pain and I knew that the bullet had reached its target. Zola lost his balance and released his grip on the test tube. It fell to the floor, but didn't break. Zola was reaching down to pick it up, but I fired the gun again, and again. He scrambled fearfully to the door, pushing it open with all his might, and limped out into the dark night, clutching his ankle.

I lowered my hand, placing the gun in my empty gun holder and jogged over to the test tube. It rolled back and forth of the tile floor, the bright blue serum glistening in the light. I leaned down and took the test tube in my hand, brining it close to my face, examining it. What the hell was this stuff…?


	12. Bucky's Sister

**_*Okay, I have explaining to do. So, let me explain. I haven't updated in quite some time. Why? Because my life has been CRAZY. Going to a new school, getting my sleep schedule together, getting used to all this change is a lot to take in emotionally and physically. My brain has been dead all week and I literally couldn't generate an ounce pf creativity. So, I just want to thank you all for being SO supportive and patient. I just want this to be good for you guys, this story, and I don't want to give you crappy chapters. I'm really sorry and I hope you continue to read. I'll be back to my old updating schedule from now on. Hope you like the chapter! -Noor xx*_  
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**HYDRA Base in Germany**

"YOU _WHAT_?!" Johann Schmidt bellowed infuriatedly at the smaller man before him, stepping closer threateningly, gaining up on Zola in the dark corner of the HYDRA lab.

Zola quickly stepped back, fearfully, accidently putting too much weight on his injured ankle and sent a shot of pain racing up his short leg. The doctor yelped in pain and stumbled backwards, tripping over his own feet and falling to the tile floor, "Sir, I-I-I am s-so sorry—," he struggled to voice.

"SORRY?! IT'S GONE! THE SERUM IS GONE YOU FOOL!" Schmidt raged, looking down at Zola as he trembled in terror, shielding his face with his hands.

"Please sir, I-I can fix zis!" Zola said loudly, avoiding the other man's daunting glare. "I-I can remake ze serum."

Schmidt released a long, deep frustrated breath, standing up straight, "You have only a few months, Doctor. I suggest you get started immediately or it shall be your head next time…" He said gravely, glaring down at the wreck of a doctor.

Zola quickly shook his head, his eyes wide as panic engulfed him.

With that, Schmidt turned on the heel of his heavy leather boots and clunked loudly out of the lab. The door shut with a loud bang, leaving the doctor sweating and shaking in fear with only one thing in his mind; make the Super Soldier Serum and make it fast.

**Steve**

The men and I sat around a large wooden table deep inside the main command center. I had Bucky at my right, Stark at my left. Marty sat across from us, slouching down in her seat, looking up at the general as he spoke, her face bruised and beat up. The right side of her jaw was growing purple, swelling slightly. Her lip was kind of puffy too, a dark red as if it was still bleeding. She wasn't the only who got a couple of shiners. Last night at the HYDRA base was a tough one. We all sat side by side at the table, baring new scars.

"We need to start taking all of the HYDRA's bases, no more planning ladies," The general said, pointing to locations on a large map that hung from the ceiling beside him. The general's use of the word 'ladies" caused me to look over the table at Marty; she met my eyes, smirking subtly before winking at me. My lip twitched upward into a small smile. I turned my attention back to the general. "So," Philips said, putting his hands down on the table and leaning in slightly, eyeing the men, Marty, and I, "What happened down there?"

"Well," Marty spoke almost immediately, sitting up straight in her seat, "I got a little…souvenir last night."

The general's thick eyebrows were raised in curiosity. "Would you care to share with the class, Brooks?"

Marty cleared her throat, leaning back in her chair so she was able to reach her pants pocket. She dug in it for a short moment then pulled out the small, clear test tube. All the eyes at the table went wide as they gaped at the mysterious blue liquid.

"Holy…" said one of the men, taking the test tube from Marty's hands and examining it.

"I know," Marty spoke, letting the men pass the test tube around the table, "Got from Zola."

Each man took the test tube in his hands, examining it carefully. "What is it?" Bucky asked once he got hold of it.

"No idea," Marty said, shifting slightly in her seat. I could tell she was a little uncomfortable talking to Bucky. This must be hard for her…

Bucky handed the test tube to me. I took it from him, careful not to drop it. I had seen this serum before. "Stark, look familiar to you?" I asked the man beside me.

He nodded his head slowly, "Looks like the soldier serum if you ask me." He said, taking the test tube from me.

I nodded my head, agreeing. I knew it. This could very well be the same serum that had turned me into what I am today, the soldier that gave Red Skull his nickname. This stuff was dangerous, especially is it got into the wrong hands.

"Can't be too sure, though," Stark said, handing the test tube to Philips.

The general gazed into it, concern suddenly filling his wrinkled face. "You better run some tests, Stark…" He said, the hypnotizing color of the serum reflecting in Philips' troubled eyes. This was supposed to his weapon. "Get to the bottom of this, as soon as possible." He quickly handed Stark the serum, as if he couldn't stand to look at it any longer.

It was as if Stark, Philips, and I had read each other's minds. If this really was the super soldier serum then god knows how much more of it HYDRA's got stocked up somewhere.

"Wait, wait, wait," Marty said, suddenly, leaning into the table. "You're saying that blue stuff is what made cap all…" she pretended to flex her muscles, making a tough-guy expression, "you know?"

"That's the idea," Stark said, looking down at the serum again.

Marty leaned back in her chair, her expression blank, shaking her head slowly, "Those bastards…"

"What if it's not the soldier serum?" One of the men at the table chimed in.

"Yeah, what if it's something worse?" Another one said.

"The worst thing we can do right now is jump to conclusions." I said stopping them before things got out of hand. "All we know is that whatever is in that test tube it's dangerous, so keep your guard up and your eyes peeled."

"Cap's right," Marty interjected, "We need to keep a look out for this stuff." Then she looked over at me, "God knows what HYDRA's got up their sleeves…" She added, her bright blue eyes meeting mine for a second.

"Uh….yeah," I said, losing my train of thought in Marty's gaze, in her face, which I just realized, was actually really feminine. Now that I thought about it, how did anyone _not_ realize she was a woman? To me she looked just as much as a lady as the dancers I used to work with back when I used to do my Captain America shows. Not that I was picturing her dancing or in those skirts or anything like that just – you know…

Just then the general clapped his hands together loudly, quickly causing me to look away from the woman in front of me, my cheeks heating up for a reason that I couldn't exactly find. I cleared my throat awkwardly, forcing my eyes to stay locked on the general. Though in the split second that my eyes wandered back on Marty I found that she was looking at me this time, a small smile on her lips; she saw me staring at her didn't she?

"So, until we have any more info on that serum, we focus on these," he said, taking a red marker and circling locations on the map beside him. "These are our next targets, and like Captain and his sidekick here said," he said, referring to Marty and I. I saw the brunette in front of me roll her eyes, "Keep your guard up and your eyes peeled."

**Marty**

A thank you, a good job, maybe even just a pat on the back might've been enough from the general, but guess what I got. I got called a sidekick. Was he for real? I might've brought back a god damn super soldier serum and Philips has decided to continue ignoring my existence. Gosh, that old bastard just doesn't want to admit that I did something important, something that he didn't dream about me doing in a thousand years. Listen, I don't want a god damn trophy okay? I honestly don't care about attention. I just want the old man to admit he was wrong about me.

These thoughts ran through my mind as I pounded my feet into the dirt track of the training grounds. It was the morning after our meeting with the general and soon we'd be off on another mission. Yesterday I wanted to talk things over with cap. I wanted to ask him about the serum, what he knew, but he ran off so fast after the meeting that I didn't get a chance to talk to him. It was probably because I had caught him gawking at me. I don't know what the hell he was looking at anyways, but he started blushing and I couldn't help but smile. Same old Steve…

Just then the training instructor blew his whistle to tell us that it was time to move on to the next part of the training. I slowed down into a soft jog, wiping sweat off my forehead.

"You're pretty fast."

My body froze in place at the sound of his voice. I couldn't ignore him, it would be rude. I gulped, "Thanks," I said, turning around on my heel to see my older brother smiling at me.

"Not a lot of people can run like you, you know?" He said, walking over to me, beads of sweat trickling down his familiar face.

"Is that so?" I said, pretending to tighten my mother's star spangled ribbon that was tied around my bare upper arm.

"Yeah, I only know one other person who can run like that." He said, running a hand through his sweaty brown hair, "and she's a lady."

Oh no.

"Really?" I said, barely hearing myself over how loud my heart was beating.

He nodded his head, chuckling, "Yeah, she's my sister. Her name's Marty."

My stomach fluttered at the sound of my name on his lips, "That's nice, I'm sure she misses you..." I said, and I felt like with that, in a strange indirect way, I was telling my brother that I missed him.

Bucky's face went solemn, "You think?" He said, smiling softly now.

"Positive," I said quietly, nodding my head.

"Yeah, well I miss her too." He said, seeming lost in thought, "Anyways," he said, shaking his head as we began walking towards the next training station, "where you from?"

"Uh, I'm from New York," I said, feeling more happy than nervous to be with my brother.

"Really, what part?" He asked, sounding intrigued.

"Manhattan." I lied.

"Oh nice, I'm from Brooklyn," he said.

"Small world," I said, laughing nervously.

"You got anyone back home? Got a girlfriend?" He asked, smirking.

Okay, never got asked that question before, especially from my brother. I gave the manliest chuckle I could muster, "Nope, no girls for me. Got no time for a relationship you know?"

"Yeah," Bucky said, nodding his head, "but that doesn't mean you can't have a little _fun_." He chuckled, nudging me with his elbow.

Ugh, boys.

"Yeah…haha," I said, with a little less enthusiasm than I planned. We'll laugh about this one day, but for now, it was just flat out awkward.

"Well, I gotta go, see you, Joey," Bucky said, friendlily clapping Joey Brooks on the back.

"Yeah, see you," I said, raising my hand in a half wave as my brother walked away from me.

I stood there, on the training field, feeling rather dumb. This whole time I was trying to hide from Bucky, to avoid him, afraid that he might recognize me, but I had just had a full out conversation with him and he didn't seem even the slightest bit suspicious. Did he really not see me? I'm his sister, I think what I'm just trying to say is that...how did he not recognize me?


	13. Schmidt's Threat

**_*Sorry, this is late again but I'm trying! Also this chapter is my longest so far, so I hope you like it :) -Noor xx*_  
**

**Bucky**

I pressed the inky tip of the pen to the blank sheet of paper, and with a single deep sigh I began to write…

_Hey Marty, how's it going?_

My little talk with "Joey" early today had changed my mindset completely. There _was_ something very suspicious about Joey, and yes, it _was_ worth the amount of anxiety I was going through at the moment; I mean, I think it's worth it. To be honest, I didn't know what hell to think anymore. Ever since Joey came to the base I knew there was something strange about him. I remember the night Steve brought him into the bar, I saw someone familiar in his face; I saw Marty.

At the moment, I honestly didn't care that much. I just thought it was some sort of weird coincidence, funny almost, but I was way over laughing about this. I saw Joey running out on the training grounds today. He was so fast, so quick on his feet. I swear I only one person who can run that fast and that far with barely breaking a sweat; again, Marty.

I still wasn't entirely convinced by then either, but then I saw a bandanna – no _the_ bandanna –, a painfully familiar pattern of stars and stripes, red, white, and blue, knotted tightly around "Joey's" arm. That bandanna is the exact same one Marty used to wear all the time, every day. I'm telling you, she wouldn't leave the house without the damn thing.

So now I was sat at the desk in the far right corner of my empty bunk, the only light emitting from the small table lamp beside me, shining down on my soon to be written letter, and I was thinking the craziest thought my cluttered mind could generate; what if Joey wasn't Joey, what if Joey Brooks was my sister?

I know, I know – how on Earth would Marty, very obviously a woman, get into the army? It was impossible, not to mention illegal. Even _I'm_ not that stupid to go committing that big of a crime, but still, what if? Marty has always been a little jealous of me being a soldier and all, maybe she wanted in…maybe.

I wasn't going to sit around and wonder any longer. I was going to get to the bottom of this to put my heart at rest, to put my mind at rest, and most importantly, to make sure my baby sister was at home and safe, and not out fighting wars beside her brother who was too stupid to recognize his own god damn sister.

Marching up to Joey – or whoever he was – and accusing him of being my sister was not going to work out, though. Plus, it'd be pretty awkward if he did turn out to be a guy. So Plan B: I was going to send a letter to Marty, address it to New York, and if I get a reply then I know she's home. If not…well than I go back to Plan A.

I had to know the truth as soon as possible. Tomorrow morning we leave for Berlin. If this Joey guy really is Marty undercover then I would be letting my sister walk right into the heat of the war, right into her death.

At that thought, my hand began to move faster across the blank paper that was quickly filling up.

**Marty**

The dawn's faint light seeped through the dirty windows of my bunk. I bit the loose end of my mother's bandanna and tugged on it, tightening the fabric, which was becoming to feel at home on my right arm, a little tighter so that it wouldn't slide. Then I grabbed my camouflage jacket and slipped it on, hiding the patriotic ribbon from sight. I was dumb enough to leave it all throughout yesterday which means the whole team saw it on my arm, including Bucky, but I couldn't help it. This simple piece of fabric was gradually becoming part of my uniform. It's kind of silly, but I feel like being undercover, being seen as a completely different person , this bandanna was a symbol of who I really was, that I was Marty Barnes the world's first ever woman soldier; even if no one knew it. Well, one person did…

Anyways, even if Bucky did see the bandanna on my arm I don't think he even suspects anything from me; at all. I know I should feel lucky that my cover has been kept from him, that I have no fear of being busted, but I can't help but feel a little disappointed knowing that all it took for my own brother to think I was a completely different person was a haircut and a simple camouflage uniform. It hurt a little.

I reached down beside my unmade bed and pulled out my combat boots, balancing on one foot as I quickly shoved the other into a boot. Then, I kneeled down to the dusty, wooden floor and tied the muddy laces of my boots. I stood up with a concluding sigh, put my hands on my hips, and looked up at the clock that lay above the front door of the bunk. I had about fifteen minutes before we set off to Berlin. Another mission, this was getting serious now. HYDRA would be expecting us this time, and that thought stirred a slowly mounting sensation of fear and nervousness inside me.

I tried my best to ignore the thoughts of anxiety that popped into my head. I then pulled open my side table drawer and pulled out my hand gun, slipping it into the gun holder at my waist, securing it tightly so that it wouldn't fall off this time. Then, before I could think too hard about the danger I was about to walk into, I quickly left the warm safety of the bunk and headed out into the Italian air which was a little bit chillier than the last time I had reported for a mission.

I walked across the deserted training grounds, past the command centers, the bunks, the dining hall until finally I reached the familiar large crowd of armed men in uniforms, ready for another battle. I squeezed through the crowd as the men talked and discussed and planned their attacks, searching for where my team was standing. Then, I saw a familiar big white "A" above my captain's determined eyes and let that guide me through the crowd. I approached the team, putting on a tough face as I greeted them, "How's it goin', fellas?"

The men of Cap's team look towards me, slight smiles forming on their faces. A numerous number of enthusiastic greetings came my way, along with a couple manly claps to the back. "Hey Brooks," Bucky said, with not nearly as much enthusiasm as the other men. 5

"Hey," I said casually, wanting to keep the air between my brother and me formal. Joey getting too close to Bucky could cause problems, and that's the last thing I needed to worry about.

I turned my head to look away from my brother, but he caught me by the eyes and stared me down. His gaze was deep, focused, searching. It was as if the secret to winning the war was hidden, swimming somewhere in my irises. Maybe Bucky _was_ suspicious… After what seemed like hours I broke away from Bucky's gaze, searching for something to focus on other than him; I needed to play it cool. My eyes landed on the silver star on Cap's chest, shining in the early morning sun. I directed my gaze upward, meeting the blonde's eyes and giving him a smile. I don't know what I would do if Cap wasn't here, I didn't have to pretend around him. I could be Marty Barnes, I could breathe god dammit.

"This fancy get up gonna be an all-time thing now?" I asked, taking a good look at his outfit. It was all dark blue, except for the single silver start that lay on his toned chest, the red and white stripes that stretched out vertically under it, and the deep crimson boots on his feet. It brought me right back to his old Captain America costume, but this design was different. This outfit didn't belong to a man that was about to break out in a dance. This outfit was for a soldier, a fighter, a _captain_.

"Uh…" he said, itching the back of his head, laughing softly, "You don't like it?"

"No, gosh no, I like it," I said, shaking my head, a half-laugh escaping my healing lip, "It's…iconic. Yeah, that's the word."

He chuckled sheepishly, looking down at the floor, kicking up some dirt with the tip of his boot, "Yeah, kinda grew on me too."

I nodded my head, smiling, "Hey, listen, I wanted to talk to you the other day, but you sort of ran off. You know, after our meeting with Philips?"

His eyes shot up from the ground, he looked worried as if he had been caught committing a crime, "Mhm," he said, clearing his throat awkwardly. "Sorry about that, I had uh…business to go over with Stark. You know the serum and all."

I raised an eyebrow at his abnormal behavior, "Yeah, you see that's what I wanted to talk to you about, about the serum. Do you really think it could be the Super Soldier –," I was cut off by a loud whistle. That meant it was time to get going.

"It's time to go," Cap said, looking somewhat relieved that our conversation would have to be postponed, "We'll talk later, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," I said, as he the blonde climbed the ladder up the tank and hopped in.

Jeez, everyone was acting so strange. I had about a million things going on in my head at the very moment, everything from Bucky to Steve, to the serum and HYDRA. I closed my eyes, trying to sort out my thoughts. The priority right now was this mission. That's what I should be focusing on. My brother and his best friend's odd behavior would have to wait. I had some asses to kick.

I climbed up the short ladder to the top of the tank and hopped in as well. The rest of the men piled into the familiar compact space. I made sure I was as far away from Bucky as possible. The tank roared to life, and with a loud rumble the tank started its course to Berlin.

**Steve**

That was a close one. I thought she caught me there for a second. I was a little worried that she might've gotten the wrong idea when I ran off the other day, but I was really just trying to avoid an awkward situation which was bound to end up with me going as red in the face as Johann Schmidt himself. I know I was fidgety around women, but Marty was a different case. It's like, I could be completely calm around her sometimes, but when I think about it too much or when I look at her for a while I feel nervous and it's strange.

I tried my best to focus on what was going to happen once we arrived on the HYDRA base. I decided it would be best to go over a plan of attack with the team before we arrived. "Okay," I began, the team giving me their undivided attention, "Bucky and I will go looking for the main command center, once we find it we'll go in and start looking for more of that serum. If it really is what we think it is then we have to find out how much HYDRA's got and how they plan on using it. Dum Dum and Jones, you two stay close to the main command center, make sure none of those bastards come in after Bucky and I. Morita, Falsworth, and Dernier, you three spread out around the base. Morita, take the right, Flasworth you stick to the left, and Dernier, take charge of the middle. Got it?"

"Yes Captain," The men said in sync, nodding their heads in determination.

"And me, Cap?"

I looked to the undercover soldier beside me. It worried me a bit, a woman on the battlefield, the _only_ woman on the battlefield. A dame like Marty really shouldn't be here at all. It's not that she couldn't fight, she could throw a better punch than all the guys here, and I knew that. It's just that she's Bucky's sister. He doesn't haven't the slightest clue that she's here, that his only family is about to walk into harm's way. The only person who knows is me; his best friend. "Joey, you'll stick with Bucky and I. You were the one who got the serum last time after all." I decided as that familiar impulse to keep Marty safe rushed back to me. I owed this to Bucky; this was my duty to my best friend.

Marty seemed to like this idea, a look of both pride and excitement coming on to her face. "Yes sir," she said, saluting me with a wide smile.

Before we knew it the tank came to an abrupt halt, almost knocking us off our feet. "Stick to the plan, team," I said, nodding my head a single time.

"Oh, and remember, look out for that serum, it could be anywhere," Marty added, confidently. The team looked a little taken aback by the way she was giving orders, but Marty stood her ground, indifferent. "You heard me."

"He's right, keep your eyes peeled guys," I said, giving her some support.

And that's when the sound of bullets reached my ears. It was go time.

**Marty**

The feelings of anxiety I was feeling back at our base vanished as I ran beside Cap. It felt good, fighting alongside the Captain. I felt legit, important, and most of all, accepted. The best thing about this all was Bucky. I was finally fighting alongside my brother, and that's all I ever craved for since the day he enlisted in the army.

We ran, side by side, scanning the base for the main command center as the battle erupted around us. "We have to find this place, quick," I said, as we stopped dead in our tracks. Cap, Bucky, and I looked around desperately. Finally, Bucky broke out.

"Over there," My brother pointed to a large, gray building. It was tall and surrounded by over a dozen bright, white lights.

"C'mon," Cap said, leading us through the rousing battle.

We fought our way through the crowd of soldiers, both American and HYDRAs as we treaded towards the command center. We raced up to the double doors; the two guards standing there raised their weapons, pulling their triggers without second thoughts. I raised my gun to fire back, but before I could pull the trigger Captain had already knocked them both out with his shield and was now kicking down the door. "Damn…" I muttered, as he knocked the doors off their hinges, the familiar sounds of the alarms echoing out from inside the command center. Bucky and I met each other's eyes, shaking our heads amazed at Cap.

"Let's go," Cap said running on in. Bucky and I followed after him.

The inside of the base was almost an exact replica as the last one, the silver metal walls, the white tile floors that reflected the red, flashing alarms, the blinding white lights on the ceilings.

"Okay, how are we gonna do this, Steve?" Bucky asked his face hard, serious. It was only then that I realized that this was the first I would see Bucky in actual battle.

"We split up. The faster we find out where they're hiding the serum the better," Cap said, immediately. There was a sort of fork in the command center; it separated into three different halls. One of them went East, one West, and one North. "Bucky, go East, I'm not positive but I'm pretty sure if you go down this hall you'll find yourself in the arsenal, see what's up down there."

"Got it," Bucky said, gripping his gun tighter in his hand. "Be careful you two," He added, making eye contact with me for a split second before racing down the East hall.

Then it was just me, Cap, and the blaring alarms. "Okay, I'll go north, you go west." Captain ordered.

"Right," I said, and turned to run down the West hall, but something pulled me back. A sudden thought raced into my mind. If Cap died tonight I would be in all this alone; again. It would be just me and my secret, and I don't think I would be able to handle that. I turned on my heel, "Cap!" I called to him, as he was already half way down the north hall.

He turned around immediately, "Yeah?" He called back, breathing heavily.

"Be careful, okay?" I said, as casual as I could, but it was hard to hide the worry in my tone. I just really didn't want to go through all of this alone again. Cap seemed to catch my drift.

"I'm the Star Spangled Man with a plan, I'm always careful, Brooks," he said, giving me a rather goofy smile.

I laughed softly and nodded my head, "Of course," I said too low for him to hear, watching him as he turned around and persisted down the north hall.

I sighed and began running down the west hall, actually smiling slightly, but my good spirits were short lived because two masked HYDRA soldiers came running down the hall, their glowing weapons at the ready. I cursed under my breath, pulling the gun out from my waist, placing a finger at the trigger. One of the them fired at me, yelling something in German that I couldn't comprehend. I ducked quickly, blocking the bright blue minerals. The second one fired at me this time, I ducked again and shot at his leg. The bullet landed right in his thigh, and he fell to his knees, crying in pain, cursing in German. The first one seemed indifferent by his companion's injury, they were so heartless. He advanced towards me, firing again. I barely got away, the Tesseracts's power singeing the sleeve of my jacket. I aimed for his hand. The bullet missed, but it hit his gun, scaring him, causing him to drop his weapon. Foolishly, he knelt to pick it up, but I charged towards him before he could even touch the ground. I balled my hand up into a fist and hit the fiend with a hard blow, knocking him to the ground; unconscious.

I released a deep breath, looking to the other soldier on the ground. He clutched his bleeding thigh, releasing shaky breaths as he struggled to reach his gun that lay feet away from him. I simply walked up to him and punched him square in the face. His head hit the floor a second later. I put my gun back in its place and advanced down the west hall, away from the fallen enemies. I walked by door after door, reading the signs above them. They were all meeting rooms, some stored maps, others stored codes on some sort. So far, I wasn't having much luck at all. I wondered if the other two had found something important at all.

As I searched the west wing of the command center I could hear sounds from outside. There were gun shots and screaming; it sounded pretty ugly. I to find something fast, if there was anything to find. I sped up my pace looking for a lab or anything that could lead me to the serum, but as I turned a corner of the hall I didn't find a lab or the serum; I found myself, face to face with yet again, Johann Schmidt and Doctor Zola.

"You again!" The Doctor exclaimed, pointing a shaking, stubby finger at me.

We stood at opposite sides of the hall, the alarms echoing above our heads, staring each other down, completely still. Then, a smile burst on Schmidt's ruby red face. "I must say, we've missed you, soldier!" He said with a laugh.

"Small world, isn't it Schmidt?" I said, slowly moving my hand down to my waist.

He nodded his head, the smile vanishing from his face, "Much too small for the both of us." He spat, pulling a gun out of his jacket, just like the last time.

"I agree," I replied, pulling the gun out from my waist.

"_You _stole my serum, soldier. Do you know how that makes me feel?!" Schmidt asked through gritted teeth, shaking the gun in his hand.

"Care to share?"

"It makes me angry, American!"

"How's the ankle healing, Doctor?" I asked, ignoring Schmidt and looking to the short man beside him. Zola's face scrunched up in anger.

"Do you realize how long I worked on the serum? I put my blood and sweat into _that _serum!" Zola yelled. So that meant that was all the serum they had. I got their only serum…

"What is it? What was in that test tube?" I asked, wanting more information, keeping my gun pointed at Schmidt.

"Ask your dear Captain, I'm sure he'll be able to tell you all about it," Schmidt said, shaking his head.

So did that mean it was the Super Soldier Serum after all?

"Mark my words, soldier. You will pay for stealing the serum. You _will_!" Schmidt threatened, critically, his face hard as stone, his body shaking with rage. A small surge of fear shot through me as he said it. What did that mean exactly…?

Before I had the chance to gather my thoughts Schmidt released a loud yell of anger and fired his weapon at me. I dodged his attack, running to the wall for protection. Then, I took my gun and fired at him, but he dodged it with frightening ease. He fired again, and so did I. We went at each other, his Tesseract energy to my bullets until I was fresh out. I tried to fire again but all that came out of my gun was a soft clicking noise, which meant my gun was empty and Schmidt still had a whole lot of Tesseract energy to go around. Schmidt tried to shoot at me again, taking his chance while I was vulnerable but Zola beat him to it.

The Doctor had a small rifle in his hand. Before I could react he aimed right for my chest and… _bang!_ The pain was excruciating, and I couldn't hold back a scream. Luckily for me, the Doctor didn't have the best aim and the bullet was planted in my shoulder instead of my heart. I clutched my left shoulder, feeling the warmth of my blood stream down my arm. I stumbled backwards, my back hitting the metal wall.

"Excellent Doctor, to the car, GO!" Schmidt yelled, enthusiastically. Then he and Zola ran down the hall and out of sight.

I tried to run after them, my hand pressed firmly to my shoulder, my breath unsteady, but the world was going fuzzy, my head began to spin. Before I knew it I found the west hall of the command center fading into black and the once ear-splitting sound of the alarms weaken into a distant echo. I hit the ground. Everything was black.


	14. The Arsenal

**_*Why do I feel so nervous posting this? OMG! Why? Ugh - breath Noor breeeeaaattthh - ah, omg, okay. Sorry, I just, I took so long to write it and I feel like it's not amazing. So yeah, anyways, ignore my stupidity. Hope you like it! -Noor xx*_  
**

**Bucky **

My breath was beginning to grow heavy as I raced down the east hall. I had a couple of HYDRA soldiers on my tail, and I would've stopped to fight them, but I had used all the bullets I had with me and now I was reduced to finding somewhere to hide. My calves were inflamed, burning painfully from all the running but I didn't dare stop, not with the sound of the HYDRA's getting closer. I stopped dead in my tacks as I reached the end of the hall, the sound of the enemy's thick leather boots pounding on the floor getting louder. In my moment of panic I flung open the first door I happen to lay eyes on, rushed on inside, and closed it behind me.

I tried to steady my breathing, my chest heaving as I did so. Then I heard the muffled sound of thick German being spoken from behind the door. I pressed my ear to its metal surface and listened. It was those HYDRA's, they didn't sound too happy. They were shouting at each other in German, probably angered by the fact I had gotten away. Then suddenly, I heard their voices become less muffled and a lot more clearly; they were heading towards the door!

I quickly hid behind the first thing I could find and stayed as quiet as I could. That's when the door opened. In came the two masked soldiers, weapons in their hands. They looked in for a few short moments, I didn't dare breath. Then, they walked right back out and closed the door, locking it behind them.

I allowed myself to relax, my muscles to cool down as I took in my surroundings. I had just gotten locked in a large room. It was very spacious with a high ceiling. Set all around the room stood work stations, it seemed like they were building stuff in here. I slowly walked down the isle of work stations; beside each one stood a strange looking contraption. All made out of metal, and all glowing the unmistakable energy of the Tesseract. Wait a second…

I walked up to one of the work stations, scattered across the table were blue prints. I took the papers in my hands; it was a design for something. The more I examined the blueprint the more I realized what it actually was. This was a design for a gun. Steve was right, I had found the arsenal. It was only then I realized the crates and crates of weapons, all labeled with the HYDRA symbol of skulls and snakes. I folded up the blue print and slipped it into my pocket, it could be some valuable information, who knows?

Just then, the alarms overhead began to blare. This was a new kind of alarm, meant for a different emergency than invaders... Then a man's voice rang out from speakers in the ceiling, first saying something in German, and then he translated, in an urgent tone, "20 minutes until self-destruction." My heart stopped in my chest. Schmidt was going to blow this place to pieces, he knew there were Americans in here, and he wanted us dead.

Without a second to lose I sprinted up to the door of the arsenal, trying to pull it open, but I had forgotten, those HYDRA guys locked me in here. I pulled harder and harder on the handle, "Come on!" I yelled, but it was no use. I released my grip on the handle, my hands beginning to blister. What about Steve? What about Joey, who could potentially be my baby sister? My stomach flipped uneasily at the thought, my blood chilling at the mental image of my sister being bombed to little pieces, her blood spilt at the hands of those bastards. Marty could be dead in less than twenty minutes.

**Steve**

As soon as the words 'Self-destruction' had reached my ears I was thundering down the west hall, the hall Marty had gone down. Schmidt was actually going to blow his precious command center to pieces just so we'd die, but how did he know we were in here? Did he bump into Bucky, maybe he bumped into Marty again? Well, I didn't have time to think about it so I did the first thing that came to my mind, and that was to make sure Marty got out alive.

I raced down the west hall, my shield secure on my back as I did so. I checked every room I happen to pass for her, calling her name as I flung open each door, but without luck. She was nowhere to be found. I proceeded down the hall, "Marty!" I called, trying to overpower the ear-splitting sound of the alarms. Then I turned a corner and the world froze for a second. Because lying right there in front of me on the floor was Marty, flat on her back beside a small puddle of blood. "Marty!" I said for the millionth time that day and rushed to her side, pulling the head piece of my costume off to see her better.

I kneeled beside her, panic engulfing me at the sight of her left shoulder. The entire sleeve of her left arm was nearly soaked in dark red, crimson blood. "No, no, no," I said, taking her face in my hands. "Marty," I said, shaking her, "Marty can you hear me?" I asked, struggling to keep my voice steady.

"17 minutes until self-destruction."

"Marty!" I said, more urgently, pressing my ear to her chest, listening for a heartbeat. I felt little relief come over me as the sound of her faint heartbeat reached my ears. She was alive, thank god. Then she began to stir, her lips parting barely a centimeter.

"Captain?" She scarcely voiced, her eyes opening slightly.

"Yes," I said, breathing heavily, and her bruised lips twitched upward into a weak smile.

"Jeez, how many times are you gonna save my life before this war is over?" She asked, her piercing blue eyes fluttering open.

I couldn't fight the smirk that came to my face, "As many times as you need me to, Ma'am."

Her laugh was barely audible but it was there. I know it was kind of a bad time for this, but the longer I stared into Marty's face, at her heart shaped lips, her dark long lashes, her dainty, delicate features, the more I realized that it was insane for anyone to actually think she was a man. Because, Marty, even in her poor state, was one of the most beautiful dames I had ever seen…

"16 minutes until self-destruction." The man said, bringing me back to reality.

"Well that's not good," She said, worry consuming her eyes.

"I know, that's why we have to move quickly," I said, tearing my eyes away from her face to glance down at her blood-stained sleeve. "What happened?"

"That pint-size bastard Zola shot me," she said her voice gaining some power.

"It's okay, we're gonna get you out of here, come on. Can you get up?" I asked.

"I think," she said, and I helped as she struggled to get into an upright position, "Damn." She said, grasping her shoulder firmly, clearly in a lot of pain.

"We have to get you to a doctor," I said, reaching out to her, "Here let me help you…"

"No," She choked out, wincing in pain and tightening her grip on her shoulder, "No doctors."

"What, Marty, you're going to bleed to death if we don't get you out of here, quick," I said, shocked at her answer. Why on Earth wouldn't she want to be treated by a doctor? "They have to get that bullet out."

"No," she repeated, breathing heavily and shaking her head, "_You_ have to get the bullet out."

"15 minutes until self-destruction." The man spoke, the alarms blaring deafeningly from above. We were running out of time.

"Huh, me? But Mar—."

"If the doctors take out the bullet they'll realize I'm actually a girl," her breath was getting heavier; she was wearing herself out just by speaking, "You have to—ugh damn!" she threw her head back in pain , "Please?" she pleaded through gritted teeth, her chest heaving, "Please Captain?"

I looked into her brilliant blue eyes, shouting with pain. I wanted to help her, take out that bullet, but I wasn't a doctor. What if I just ended up hurting her more than helping her? I looked down at her bloody arm, still fresh and wet.

"14 minutes until self-destruction."

"Marty I—."

"Cap," She said sternly, getting my attention. I looked back at her eyes, they were desperate though her face was hard and determined, and she spoke, loud and clear, "I'm not ready to go back to Brooklyn."

Minutes near death and yet she wanted to keep fighting, she wanted to stay in the army, stay and serve, stay and prove herself. I felt a strong admiration for Marty flow inside of me. The answer was clear. I nodded my head, "Okay, let's do this."

She nodded her head curtly and I helped her remove her jacket, revealing a bloody mess on her left shoulder. She looked down at her arm and cussed quietly. "That's worse than I thought," she said, making me feel loads better…

"Looks pretty deep," I said, not being able to hide the worry in my tone as I removed my gloves.

"Just try," she said, "At the count of three."

"13 minutes until self-destruction."

I gave her a firm nod of my head, mentally preparing myself for what I was about to do.

"One, two…_three_!"

I, not allowing myself to think too hard about it, bit down hard on my teeth and gently pushed my index finger into the bullet hole on Marty's shoulder. "Sorry, sorry…" I said once she yelped in pain.

I tried my best to ignore the sickening mushy feeling of her insides, her meat, and her muscle. I closed my eyes tightly, feeling around for the bullet, digging inside her shoulder, warm blood trickling down my arm.

"Cap—ugh— hurry it up, please!" Marty managed to get out, squirming uncomfortably; she was definitely in a lot of pain.

"You have to stay still," I said, holding her should still with my left hand.

"11 minutes until self-destruction."

"God dammit, Rogers!"

Then my fingernail hit metal, "I got it, I got it," I said, loudly. She pushed down so hard on her teeth I was expecting them to shatter.

Focusing intensely on the bullet I managed to get it curled up in my finger. Then, trying to do it with as a little pain as possible, I slowly and gently drew the bullet out of her damaged shoulder. Marty let out a final small cry of pain. She was breathing as if she just ran a marathon. The edges of her short brown hair were wet with sweat and her face nearly colorless.

"There," I exhaled, dropping the bloody bullet on the floor with a soft _clang_, "That wasn't so bad."

Marty shook her head, panting, "Easy for you to say."

"We need to wrap it, got anything that work?" I asked, keeping my hand pressed firmly against her bare shoulder so it wouldn't bleed too much.

"Uh…" she said, thinking, looking around frantically for something to use.

"10 minutes until self-destruction."

"Here!" She said suddenly, raising her right arm, "Take the bandanna, that'll do."

Without saying a word I untied the patriotic bandanna from her arm singlehandedly, and then wrapped it around the bullet hole. "There…" I said quietly, tying a knot and making sure it was tight.

She sighed in relief, looking to her now bound shoulder then up at me, "Thank you, Captain. I owe you," She said with all sincerity, looking me dead in the eye.

I nodded my head, feeling the blood rush to my face at her gaze, making my cheeks go a bit warm, "Don't mention it," I said, brushing it off as nothing.

"9 minutes until self-destruction."

"Come on, let's get out of here," I said hastily, leaping off the floor. I grabbed her trembling hands and helped her up. "Here let me help you." I said to her, putting her arm over my shoulder.

"Thanks," she said, letting me support her.

We started down the hall as fast as possible, the alarms booming above over heads. We didn't have much time, we needed to get out and get away from the command center quick.

"8 minutes until self-destruction."

The front doors of the base were in sight, we were going to make it. Then, Marty let out a blood chilling gasp. "What is it?" I said, looking to her, alarmed.

"Bucky! Where's Bucky?!" She said, genuine panic filling her face.

How could I have forgotten?! Bucky could still be in here. "Listen to me," I said, pulling her arm off my shoulder, "The door's right there, I need you to get the hell outta here and as far away as you can from the building as you can, do you understand?"

"Hell no, I'm not leaving you!" She said, stubbornly, shaking her head wildly.

"Mart—."

"He's not just your best friend, Cap. He's my brother!" She yelled, overpowering the alarms.

As usual, Marty wasn't going to take no for an answer. There was no use trying to convince her. Plus, we didn't have the time. "Stay close." I said, and with a nod of her head we began treading down the east hall.

"6 minutes until self-destruction."

My heart was pounding in my chest, my mind racing, where the hell was Bucky? I had saved Marty's life and now I was putting her right back in danger, but there was no use reasoning with her. When she wanted something, she got it.

We ran down the hall, side by side. I glanced at her every few seconds to make sure the blood loss wasn't making her dizzy. She was holding up well for someone who had a hole in their shoulder. We turned a corner in the hall and that's when I heard his voice. "STEVE! JOEY! HEY GUYS!"

"Bucky!" Marty exclaimed, her eyes wide.

"BUCKY!" I called out, "WHERE ARE YOU?"

"IN HERE, THE ARSENAL!"

My eyes scanned over the hall, and in the little window of one of the doors Bucky stood, looking terrified, "Over there!" I said, gesturing for Marty to follow me.

We raced up to the door. Bucky pressed his face up to the window, "It's locked," His muffled voice spoke.

I tried pushing open the door, pressing on it as hard as I could.

"What do we do?" Marty asked, worriedly.

"I have a plan. Bucky step back!" I called into the window and saw my best friend take several strides backward.

"What are you gonna do?" Marty asked.

"5 minutes until self-destruction."

"You'll see," I answered, taking in a deep breath.

I took a few paces back, I needed a running start. Then, as fast I could go, and with as much force as I could muster I charged at the door. I felt a strong force as my body collided with the thick metal, and with a loud bang the door was knocked right off its hinges and fell to the floor of the arsenal. Bucky stood in awe, looking at me as he shook his head slowly, "You gotta teach me to do that one day," he said.

"Come on, we don't have much time," I said, saving the chit-chat for later.

"4 minutes until self-destruction"

Bucky and I hurried out of the arsenal. He took one look at Marty and his eyes went wide, "Joey, your arm, what's the deal?" He asked, looking worried.

"Just a scratch, Barnes. I'll be fine," she said, shrugging her shoulders.

And with that the three of us ran as fast as our tired feet would take us back up the north hall.

"2 minutes until self-destruction."

The door was in sight, we were almost there. "Come on!" I shouted at the others. Were we going to make it? It was hard to tell.

"1 minute until self-destruction."

Our feet pounded on the tile floor, my eyes locked on that damn door.

"15 seconds until self-destruction."

The door was in reach. I immediately seized the handle of the door and thrust it open. Marty went out first, then Bucky, but just as I was about to step out of the command center there was a deafening, booming sound. I felt a force stronger than anything I had ever felt knock me right off my feet and I was sent crashing down to the Earth, slamming my head down on the hard, German ground.


	15. Learning to Knock

**_*It's been a crazy week! Sorry it took so long, but here it is. This chapter is a little soft and sweet, but yeah, next chapter's gonna be pretty eventful and action-y so stay tuned! Hope you like it! -Noorxx*_  
**

**Steve**

I was swimming in darkness, feeling rather serene and relaxed despite the fact I had just been in an explosion. I noticed that my head wasn't rested on hard, German ground but on something soft and comforting. I slowly opened my eyes, squinting at the sudden light that hit them. I found myself staring up at a blank white ceiling, which meant that I was in a room somewhere. I slowly sat upright in what I found to be a bed. How did I get in a bed…? I was so confused, so lost.

I looked around the unfamiliar room I now sat in. There was bed after bed lined up beside each other, all empty, and small little tables sat beside them, carrying containers and what looked like medical equipment. Then suddenly, the door opened and in came Peggy, or, Agent Carter. She was something like General Philips' right hand man – or woman more like it. We spoke often; she was a nice person, kind, and understanding. "You're up." She stated, smiling at me with dark red lips.

"Yeah," I said, scratching the back of my aching head, "Where am I? What happened?" I asked looking around the room confusedly.

"You're in the infirmary. You were in an accident, Captain. HYDRA nearly blew you and your men to pieces, you're lucky to be alive," she spoke in her soft British accent, sitting on the edge of my bed. "How do you feel?" She asked, giving me a subtle smile.

"Fine," I said, nodding my head slowly, and then a sudden realization hit me, "What about the men, are they okay?" I asked, concerned, the image of Marty and her bleeding shoulder popping into my head suddenly, only causing the unease in my chest to spread, "My team I mean."

"They have minor injuries, but I'm sure they'll recover," she informed me, relieving the weight off my shoulders, "They've been concerned about you, one soldier especially."

"Really," I asked, raising an eyebrow at her, "Who's that exactly?"

"Brooks, Joey Brooks, he hasn't stopped asking about you for the past two days," she said, "I think he's taken a liking to you, Captain," she looked me in the eyes, "but who can blame him…?"

A smile crept on to my face. I don't know why exactly, but I felt really pleased with myself at that moment. Being in on Marty's secret was enough to make me feel special, but she actually cared about me, and that feeling couldn't be any more mutual. "Well, I've taken a liking to him too, Ma'am." I said in utter honesty. "Where is Joey now?" I asked, stretching my aching arms.

"He's in his bunk, resting. He hit his head pretty hard too, suffered a minor concussion."

"Right," I said, slipping out of the bed, immediately, "I should go check on him."

"Wait," Agent Carter said, suddenly, shooting up off the bed, "Are you sure you're alright, Captain? If you're in any pain you can stay here longer, there's no rush, really," She said, quickly as if wanting me to stay in the infirmary, stay with her…

"I think I'm just fine, Agent Carter, thanks," I said, trying to hide the suspicion in my voice, "I really gotta go check on Joey, he might've gotten some information back at the HYDRA base that could be useful," I said, coming up with an excuse to leave the infirmary.

"Right, well if you're positive you're okay," she said, smiling softly, though I couldn't help but notice a hit disappointment in her tone.

"Thank you," I said, giving her a kind smile before walking past the isles of empty, perfectly made beds, out of the infirmary, and towards Joey Brooks' bunk.

**Marty**

"Son of a bitch!" I exclaimed under my breath as a sudden shock of pain shot down my injured arm.

I stood in the middle of my empty bunk, shirtless, trying to tightly wrap up my chest, but it was hard with a hole in my arm and all. It's times like this that I wished someone was in on my secret, so they could help me with this stuff when I needed it. I mean, there was one person, but he was somewhere in the infirmary, getting the rest he so desperately needed, not to mention deserved.

I've been worried sick about Cap. I mean, how could I not? Wouldn't you be worried about someone who saved you from near death twice, who pulled a god damn bullet out of your skin with his bare hands, who rescued your brother from being blown to bits when he had the choice of running away and saving himself instead? Of course you would and you'd be one hell of a heartless bastard if you didn't.

For the past couple of days I've been pulling Agent Carter aside every chance I had to ask about Cap. I couldn't help it. I just felt so much gratitude, so much affection for him now. That man has done so much for me; I owe him.

I had my chest wrapped up halfway now, but it wasn't nearly tight enough, and every time I tried to wrap it tighter I just ended up hurting my arm again. "Aw, screw this," I said with a frustrated huff, flopping down on my bed, "Why do girls have to have boobs anyways?" I asked myself, staring up at the ceiling.

Just then, the door of the bunk opened up. I gasped, springing upright on the bed, my head shooting towards the door. I was expecting to see any other soldier, coming in here and finding out my secret, maybe I was even expecting Bucky to barge in on me, but it wasn't. Instead it was none other than Cap himself, his blue eyes wide as he stared at me from the door, his face going a soft pink, "Sorry!" he blurted out, stepping out of the bunk and shutting the door behind him.

I sighed with overwhelming relief, a smile coming to my face. I stood up from the bed and walked over to the door, opening it just a peep, and I whispered through the small crack, smirking, "Aren't you ever gonna learn to knock, Rogers?"

I heard him chuckle nervously from behind the wooden door, "Think I learned my lesson, but you should probably get in the habit of locking the door behind yourself, Miss Barnes," he said, and I could tell by him tone that he was smiling.

"Think I learned my lesson," I said, playfully, mimicking him. "Hey, come in here I need your help with something."

I stepped back a bit, holding my wrap in place as Cap opened the door. He looked a bit alarmed that I was still as he left me, simply in some pants and an old, shabby, wrap, his eyes flickering from my face, to my chest, then down at the dusty wooden floor, "Yeah?" he said.

I smiled, holding up the loose end of the wrap, "I can't wrap myself up; my arm's been killing me so…" I closed the door behind us, taking the captain's advice and locking it as well, "Could you do it?" I asked.

"Uh…" he said, rubbing the back of his neck, "Yes, of course." He said, timidly, taking the loose end of the wrap.

"Here, just wrap it around me, but make sure it's tight," I said, and he nodded his head.

He hesitantly began, slowly and carefully unraveling what was left of the wrap around my upper body. His eyes were focused intensely on the tattered wrap in his subtly shaking hands, his face a light pink. I couldn't help but wonder why such a hotshot like Cap, such an icon in the war, was so shy, so kind. Any other guy in Captain's shoes would've had an ego the size of the US its self.

"Steve," his first name slipped from my lips for the first time, getting his immediate attention. His eyes shot up at me.

"Am I doing it too tight?" he asked, concerned.

"No, no, you're fine," I said, shaking my head, looking him dead in his blue eyes, "It's just, you're pretty shy, you know, for such a big guy."

He sighed, "I wasn't always this big," he looked back down to the wrap in his hands, and added quietly, "You know that."

There was a long moment of silence, in which all I could hear was the rackety sound of the ceiling fan and me and Steve's breathing. He wrapped me up, his fingers touching the skin on my back every now and then, the warmth of his hands causing goose bumps to erupt down my back. I didn't mind Steve being so close to me. In fact, I actually liked it. I felt, I don't know, kind of safe around him. I kept my eyes locked on his overly focused, chiseled face. Though, he didn't look away from the wrap, not for a second.

"There," he said softly, breaking the silence, "That good, Ma'am?" he asked, taking a step back from me.

I nodded my head, "Yeah…thanks," I said absentmindedly. I wasn't focused on the wrap anymore; I was too busy staring at Steve, thinking… "You know," I began, sitting on the edge of my bed, "I used to _hate _Captain America."

He joined me, sitting on the edge of the bed across from me, and said with a sweet smile, "You know, I hated him too."

I gave a soft laugh, nodding my head, "You – I mean, _he _– was one of the main reasons I came to the army."

The blond raised an eyebrow.

"You see," I continued, "Cap was all for helping at home, fighting the war from the comfort of your living room, but I didn't want that, you and I both know that. He made me feel small, made me feel weak. Buying war bonds," I snorted, shaking my head, "Such a big job…"

Steve just sat across from me, listening as he twiddled his thumbs.

"I actually tore a Captain America poster off the window of a post office," I recalled, laughing a bit to myself and making Steve chuckle.

"Did yah really?" He asked with a smile, glancing over at me.

"Yup, and I didn't even regret it, still don't," I said, nodding my head, smiling with him. "'Course everyone in the street thought I had lost my marbles, but hey, I was angry."

We laughed softly together for a moment, "Sounds like something you'd do?" He said, seeming more comfortable around me than before.

"Doesn't it?" I said, grabbing my shirt from beside me and slipping it on.

We sat there in another moment of silence, and then Steve spoke first this time, "How's your arm?"

"It's healing, slowly but surely," I glanced down at my arm for a short moment. I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for the man in front of me. I would be dead. It was that simple. Steve saved my life and without him I would've been, simply, dead. "Thank you, Steve." I said with every ounce of sincerity I could muster up, looking back up at him.

"It's really no big deal, I was just doing what needed to be done," he said modestly, shrugging his broad shoulders.

"But really…" I said, feeling an overwhelming feeling of affection and gratitude for the Captain come over me, "I would be dead right now if it wasn't for you. I don't know how to thank you, Captain."

His face was a light pink, "Ma'am I –."

"Just call me Marty," I said, with a smile, "I think we're to a first name basis don'tcha think?"

"_Marty_," He said, giving me a brilliant smile, and I kinda liked the way my name sounded in his voice, "You don't have to thank me at all, you're my best friend's sister; it's my job to make sure you're safe."

I felt a pang of disappointment in my chest. So he was babysitting me, huh? "Oh, right…" I said, nodding my head slowly, looking to the wooden floor.

"Of course, you _are_ a part of my team, and we look out for each other, no men left behind," he said, making me feel a whole lot better.

"Damn straight," I said, nodding my head a single time. "How are you, though? You've been out for a couple of days now."

"I'm okay; you know the serum works pretty fast on healing so I'm sure I'll be ready for the next mission in no time." He said, putting my worrying to rest.

"That's good," I said, "If you're not with us who's gonna save my ass again?"

"No more wasting time, ladies!" General Philips slammed his fist down on the table, making me jump back in my chair.

We were deep in the command center once again, and this time out planning was for long-term attacks. We were going to take out each HYDAR base one by one, non-stop. This was serious now and HYDRA is gaining power as we all sat, listening to the aging man in uniform before us.

"Sir," I interjected, "I have some info that could be of service."

"Proceed." He said, crossing his arms.

"Back at the HYDRA base I ran into Schmidt again, he was furious at me for taking that little test tube last time. Whatever serum was in that test tube was all they had. That little amount of blue liquid was for sure the only amount they have. So, they ain't storing anymore of it anywhere, but something tells me they're gonna try and re-make it…whatever it is."

The general nodded his head slowly; the men at the table began to stir at this news.

"General Philips, sir!" We heard Howard Stark's voice echo from across the room.

He came rushing towards the table, still dressed in his lab coat, goggles over his eyes, and in his hand was the infamous test tube, the blue serum swirling around in it, looking perfectly innocent.

"Stark?" Philips said, worriedly.

"It's it, sir," Stark said, slightly out of breath.

"What's what, Stark?" Steve said seriously from across the table, standing up slowly.

Stark raised the test tube in his hand so that we could all see it, "This," he swallowed hard, "It's the Super Soldier Serum."


	16. The Train

**_*Do-do-do-do-do-do-do STEVE :) Here's the chapter, pretty eventful. Hope you like it!-Noor xx*_  
**

**Marty**

The sun was just rising in the sky; the air was light and misty, filled with the refreshing moisture of the early morning dew. I walked through the crispness of the morning towards the tanks, where, yet again, the team was awaiting me for another mission. I strolled over to the men with a small smile, "Mornin'," I said, greeting them.

Numerous greeting were sent my way, including Bucky's. He seemed quite casual, pretty normal actually. He greeted me just as he would greet any other man, and that kind of put me on the safe side…for now at least. I turned to the captain, his bold stars and stripes making him stand out among the rest of us badge and camouflaged soldiers.

"Good morning," I said to him, separately, putting my hands on my hips and a smile on my face.

"Mornin'," he said, giving me a nod of his head. "How are you feeling?" He asked, gesturing to my left arm.

I glanced down at my healing shoulder, "I'm hanging in there," I said, looking back up at him. My arm was healing normally, but it hurt pretty bad, the pain in my arm caused my whole left side to ache as well, but I tried not to let it bother me. I needed to worry about the quickly approaching battle, or battles more like it. You see, the war was more critical and more serious than it had ever been. Now, we were planning on taking out HYDRA's bases non-stop. This means that we won't be at the Italian base much for the next few months. It was just going to be us against HYDRA, bullets against Tesseract energy.

Since we wouldn't be seeing much of the base for a while, we were told to bring some extra clothes and things with us. I was a little nervous about camping out with men, I mean how would I be able to change, but then I remembered Steve. The nerves were gone just like that.

"You'll be good as new in no time, Brooks," Cap said, giving me a gentle pat on the back before hopping into the tank.

Making sure my gun was secure at my waist and that my mother's bandanna was tied tightly around my arm, I got into the tank after my captain and we set off towards battle.

_**Over the next few months…**_

The months flew by so fast. The team and I, along with countless other soldiers, were able to take out nearly every HYDRA base, but it was anything but easy. The battles were intense, dangerous. After destroying our fourth base HYDRA began to catch our drift. They found out what we were up to and they were no longer surprised when we showed up on their door step. In fact, they had begun to anticipate Cap and his team of good enough soldiers.

Base after base we took over as the moths rolled by. August was an especially gory month. We all suffered great injuries, including Dum Dum who had managed to break his leg and Bucky who escaped a HYDRA grenade by mere seconds, giving him a critical concussion. He could barely remember his name after that one, but by the time September came around he was recovering just fine. We lost a lot of men in August that's for sure. I didn't know most of them, but I did know one of them pretty well; Artie.

It was late August, there was a thunder storm beginning to form in the sky. We were camping out somewhere in France when the news came. At the time I shared a tent with Steve, it was only best, I could be comfortable around him so I didn't have to pretend all the time. When I found out about Artie I was in pure shock. I didn't have the slightest clue that he had even been sent on missions like me. We haven't spoken in so long, which I guess was why I was feeling so terrible.

After hearing the news I just went into the tent and plopped down on my mat, letting the grief set in. He was my first friend in the army…the first person who gave a damn about the newbie Joey Brooks, and now he's dead. A thick lump sat in my dry throat and my eyes were brimmed with tears. I quickly covered my face with my hands, letting myself cry, letting myself remember every detail about his face, his accent. It brought me right back to the day when I got the condolence letter about Bucky; everything was crashing down my head. Thunder rumbled loudly from above.

Just then the flaps of the tent opened up. I looked away from my hands and at the door; there stood Steve, a sympathetic look on his face. "Mind if I come in?" He asked. I shook my head, wiping my tears off with my arm. The blonde ducked his head slightly and walked into the tent, taking a seat beside me on the mat, "I'm sorry, Marty." He said, respectfully, "He looked like a great man."

"He was," I said, sniffling, looking to the floor. "Artie was my first friend here…you know before you came along." I said quietly, nodding my head. Steve sat in silence. "Guess it's just kinda hard to take in…" I felt another round of tears coming on, and I covered my face with my shaking hands once again, trying to hold them in as much as I could.

Then, I felt an arm around me, a muscular arm, a warm arm, and at Steve's touch I couldn't take it anymore, and much like how the rain began to fall on the roof of our tent, I began to cry. I buried my head in his chest and began to sob, trembling slightly, and holding on to his white t-shirt. He just sat there, stroking my arm comfortingly. That was the moment that I knew Steve was my true friend, and from then on we grew so close.

September brought in light for a new beginning. Especially for HYDRA, they seemed to have upgraded their weapons somehow. There was no denying the fact that they were gaining some way in the war, and this, I could tell, was putting Cap on edge. He seemed stressed, worried. If I was in his place I'd be too. Just imagine the pressure he must be under.

Bucky was nearly fully recovered from his concussion, he got a pretty bad headache every now and then, but he was okay for the most part. He and I were on casual terms, we didn't talk a lot but it wasn't as if we never talked. Just casual, but as the month was coming to an end Bucky was beginning to act strange. It was the beginning of October when he confronted me about something that made my heart stop for a good five seconds.

We were just about to head to our tents for bed when he came up to me and said suddenly, "You know, you really remind me of someone, Brooks." He was nodding his head slowly, looking suspicious.

At those words my eyes were as wide as the moon above our heads. "I get that a lot, believe it or not, guess I just got one of those faces, huh?" I let out a fake laugh.

"Yeah…it's my sister, though."

Damn, damn, damn!

"Uh…" I said, looking around the area desperately for Steve, I didn't know why exactly, but it was sort of an impulse. "I remind of you of a lady?"

"Yeah, I know," Bucky said, chuckling, "But seriously I swear you look almost exactly like her. It's freaky man."

At that point I was going through every curse word I could think of in my head. "Weird…oh gosh!" I blurted out before Bucky could say another word. "Look at the time," I said though no one had a watch on. "We should get to bed, got that mission tomorrow, 'night Barnes," and with that I hurried off to me and Steve's tent and told the captain the whole story.

**Steve**

HYDRA's sure got a hell of a lot of bases. It wasn't easy, camping out, planning attacks, making sure my men were safe, making sure Marty was safe. It was a lot for one person to have on their shoulders, but this is what I signed up for.

It was mid-October, early fall and it was beautiful here in London. It was the morning after one of our missions, and with all the colorful leaves and the weather I was feeling kinda inspired. So, with Marty and nearly all the men sound asleep in their tents I pulled out my sketch book and a pencil. Drawing was something I did in my spare time, but it was nice to get away from it all and just relax. I stood up from my mat, looking at Marty. She was lying flat on her back, spread-eagled on her mat, her mouth opened slightly as she snored. I couldn't hold back a laugh; she really was one of the guys, wasn't she?

I looked away from her and quietly tip-toed out of the tent. The air was crisp and fresh, the brightly colored leaves fell from the trees around me. I found a spot to sit on a little stump of wood, opened up my sketch book, and pressed the tip of my pencil to the paper. Getting spaced out in the morning, the birds chirping, the sun rising, my mind began to wonder and I began to think about Marty.

Over the past couple of months Marty and I have grown so close. We fought beside each other, we laughed together, sometimes we would stay up late and just remember things about Brooklyn, things about home, it was nice. Hell, we even slept together – I mean, not like _slept _together. Just sleeping, like actually sleeping not anything like…fondue. I would never, not with Marty. It's not that she's not beautiful, she's really beautiful but she's Bucky's sister and supposed to be a man and – you know scratch that. Just forget this whole paragraph. Where was I…? Right, drawing, I was drawing.

I was getting so spaced out in my own head that it wasn't until I heard Marty's voice behind me that I had noticed what I was drawing. "That's pretty neat."

I shot my head back, "Hi," I said, smiling up at her. It was obvious she had just woken up. She had dark bags under her eyes and her short hair was messy and unkempt. I looked back at the paper in my hands. I had drawn a woman, dressed in a soldier's attire, a gun in her hand, and a star spangled bandanna on her arm…wait a second.

"Who's that supposed to be?" She asked me with a hint of sarcasm, obviously knowing who it was. She stood behind me, putting her hands on my shoulders and leaned over to look at the paper. "She looks kinda familiar." She was practically talking into my ear, and I felt that same nervous feeling that I always got when she was close to me.

"Take a guess," I said, glancing up at her.

"Hmm…" she bit her lip, thinking, "Betsy Ross?"

"Nope," I shook my head.

"Let me think…Marty Barnes?" She asked, smiling softly at me.

I chuckled, "That is her, isn't it?" I asked, looking back at the sketch book.

"Sure looks like her," she said, looking at the drawing with me. "You're really good, Steve."

I shrugged, her hands still on my shoulders, "Eh, not really…"

"Sure you are, c'mon that looks beautiful!" She said.

"Yeah, well that's because it's a drawing of you…" I said, not really thinking, looking back up at her. She bit her lip again, and for the first time I saw Marty blush.

"You think I'm beautiful, Cap?"

"Yes…" I said, meeting her piercing blue eyes, "I'll admit you're not the most attractive sleeper, but hey – ow!" I said as she flicked my temple.

"Shut up," she mumbled, though she was still smiling. She removed her hands from my shoulders and sat beside me on the stump. "Hey I gotta tell you something," she sighed.

"Shoot," I said, closing the sketch book and placing it on the ground.

"You know, that time when you took the bullet outta my arm?"

"Mhm."

"Well, that night Schmidt said something to me."

I raised an eyebrow, a million thoughts racing in my head, "What did he say, Marty?"

She took a deep breath, "He threatened me, he told me I was gonna pay for stealing the Soldier Serum. What do you think that means?"

I suddenly felt my blood boil dangerously under my skin, "He threatened you?" She nodded her head, seeming completely casual about it all. "I don't know what that means exactly, but we better watch out, Marty."

She nodded her head again, "Okay, I mean he said it a while back so I bet he forgot about me anyways," she said, shrugging. "Here let me see what else you got in here." She said, leaning over me and taking the sketch book off the ground, opening it up freely.

I wasn't too convinced that Schmidt had forgotten about her. HYDRA was sneaky; they might be planning something for her right now…

**Meanwhile in the ruins of a recently destroyed HYDRA base**

"AHHHH!" Schmidt bellowed, kicking the rubble of his once strong base with the tip of his rubber boot. "What went wrong here, Doctor?! There is something wrong in the equation as you might have noticed! You have the Tesseract, the most powerful energy in the universe and you can't deal with a simple man with a shield!"

Zola scratched his balding head with a shaky hand and shrugged, "S-sir, I only make ze weapons, I do not fire zem."

"Look at this!" Schmidt exclaimed, looking around his ruined base that lay in nothing but ashes and rubble. There was a HYDRA flag, baring a skull and snakes that lay buried beneath the rubble. This sight made Johann Schmidt's blood boil even hotter than before. "The serum," he said through gritted teeth, his eyes still locked on the flag which once billowed in the wind, proudly, "Doctor, you had a deadline, is the serum finished?"

"Y-yes sir, ze serum is complete, I am positive."

Schmidt's head shot towards the smaller man beside him, an eerie smile coming to his red lips, "Is that so?"

"Yes sir."

"Well then Doctor," Schmidt said, his eyes scanning over his demolished base once more, excitement growing in his chest, "We'll have to test it then…"

"Zat's right, but on who sir?" Zola said.

"Doctor Zola, I need you to go get your serum and bring back to the secret base." Schmidt spoke, "I know exactly who we're going to test the serum on…"

**Marty**

_Early December_

"Yup, that train's definitely got Zola on board," Jim Morita said, looking through his binoculars.

The snow was falling heavily onto our heads. The team and I stood on an icy cliff, looking across a deep trench and at a speedily moving train that was transporting none other than Zola to his leader Johann Schmidt. We had gotten news that he was taking his newly made Super Soldier Serum to a secret HYDRA base location, but our plan was to get to Zola before he could reach his destination, and how were we going to get on that train? Easy; zip line.

Since the train was moving so fast we had to get on at the right time, or we'd be, as Jim put it, bugs on a windshield; no pressure. "Okay, you guys ready?" Steve said to Bucky and I.

"This isn't pay back for Coney Island is it?" Bucky asked Steve, looking nervous.

"Now why would I do that?" Steve said, giving his best friend a small smile.

"Okay, now's your chance guys," Jim said, urgently.

Steve gave me a reassuring smile then zipped down the line towards the train. Bucky took a deep breath and followed after him. Then, it was my turn. I, not allowing myself to think too hard about it, zipped off after them. I'm sure the ride was short, but when you're suspended over a bottomless pit of sharp, piercing rocks time seems to slow down just a bit.

After about 15 torturing seconds, my feet hit the metal roof of the train. I stood there, the icy winter wind slamming into my face, making my nose go numb. I looked ahead of me, trying my best to keep my balance on the moving train. "Come on!" Steve called to Bucky and I.

We followed him along the roof of the train, and then the captain opened up a small, circular door. One by one we each slipped into the train. Once we were all in we immediately pulled out our weapons. Bucky and I held our guns while Steve took the shield from off his back and grasped it tightly in his strong hand. We were now closer to HYDRA than ever.

We started down the first compartment of the train as quietly as we could. The train seemed to be holding some kind of cargo, probably weapons. Other than the sounds of the wind rushing past the windows of the train, there was nothing but silence. We made it to the end of the first compartment. There was an automatic door which Cap didn't hesitate to open. The door led to a small, compact space in which there was another door that leads to the next compartment.

Bucky went in first, making it safely to the next compartment, but as soon as I stepped foot in that small, compact space, the door to the first and the door to the second compartment shut, trapping me in between the two compartments. I cursed under my breath, my heart rate speeding up nervously. I looked into the small window of the second compartment and saw Bucky. He was pressed up tightly against the wall behind some cargo crates, hiding, but from what…?

Then I saw, there was a HYDRA, masked, armed, and ready to shoot Bucky the second he laid eyes on him. I met my brother's eyes, he gently nodded his head in the direction of the HYDRA, he wanted me to come in and help him. "I'm locked in." I mouthed to him, and at that very moment I heard the unmistakable sound of Steve's shield hitting its target. I spun around in my little trap and looked through the window for the first compartment, seeing that Steve had just taken out two guards. "Steve!" I said from behind the thick glass.

The blonde looked over at me, "Marty stand back!" he said.

I obeyed orders and got as far away from the door as the tiny space would allow. Then Steve grabbed the automatic door and with all his might slid it open. "You okay?" He asked, worriedly, putting his hands on my shoulders.

"Yeah, I'm fine but –," there was the sound of a gunshot, "Bucky!" Steve and I looked into the second compartment's window; Bucky was in the midst of shooting at the HYDRA, who didn't hesitate to shoot back with his own bullets. With my help, Steve and I forced the compartment door open and rushed in to help Bucky.

Once we were with him, two more guards showed up. I raised my gun and without a second to lose pulled the trigger over and over again, aiming for the masked enemies head. He shot back at me, but I hid behind one of the crates before it could hit me. Then, before he could fire again I planted a bullet in his chest. Bucky and Steve seemed to have taken care of the other guard just fine.

"You two okay?" I asked the others, hurrying over to them.

"We're fine – Marty watch out!" It all happened to fast, the HYDRA coming out of nowhere, Steve pushing me out of the way, and now my captain lay there on the floor, gripping his side, pain filling his chiseled face, a bullet in his side.

"Marty?!" Bucky exclaimed, his eyes wild.

And my secret was out just like that. I wanted to explain everything to my brother, tell him the whole story form the second I opened up that condolence letter, but the HYDRA soldier had other plans. He grabbed a new weapon, and this time it was glowing blue. This had the Tesseract energy in it. The HYDRA yelled something in German and raised his gun to my brother. Bucky quickly grabbed Steve's abandoned shield off the floor and used it to cover himself. The HYDRA released the lethal blue minerals, but the shield was too much for my brother. Bucky was flung backwards into the air; the wall of the train was blasted nearly completely off.

I couldn't believe what was happening in front of me. My captain had just taken a bullet for me, my secret was out, and my brother, my only family was hanging onto nothing but a metal handle on the nearly blasted off wall, his feet dangling into the winter wind, thousands of feet above the bottomless trench. The sight of my brother mere seconds away from death put my body in utter terror. "BUCKY!" I cried, rushing over to save my brother. I carefully inched out onto the nearly broken off wall of the train, extending out my hand, "Take my hand!" I yelled to him.

He looked absolutely terrified, "Marty!" He said trying to grab hold of my hand. The handle he was holding onto was beginning to break off.

"Bucky take my hand!" I said, extending my hand out as far as I could go, my heart beating at the speed of sound, fear numbing my mind just as the wind was numbing my fingertips. "BUCKY!"

My brother reached out as far as he could go and…his hand was in mine. I grasped his hand as tightly as I could; pulling with every ounce of strength my trembling body could exert and heaved my brother back on the train and back into safety. Without saying a single word, I flung myself into his arms, wrapping my arms around his neck and hugged him, burying my face in the crook of his sweaty neck.

"Holy shit…god damn it Marty…" Bucky said, breathlessly, hugging me back tightly. "I knew it was you, I knew it. You crazy dame, how the hell did you even –?"

"Save the scolding for later would yah?" I said, beginning to sob into his neck.

I was so caught up with Bucky that I didn't even notice that Steve had gotten up. He was crouching slightly, one hand on his side, the other holding his shield. The HYDRA soldier that had caused all this mess lay on the floor unconscious. I didn't care that my secret was out, I didn't care that I might be in jail a week from now or that there even god damn war going on. All I cared about was that all three of us were alive, that all three of us were safe.


	17. Just a Woman

_***Well that took WAY longer than intended! I apologize deeply for the huge delay, but all this week I had EXAMS. Don't worry, tomorrow is my last one and then I'm all yours baby. I hope you like this one, took me forever to finish thanks to the studying. Plus, my mom has been hogging the laptop and I'm just going through a lot of crap, but this isn't listen to the authors problems, this is read the chapter and leave a review of your thoughts and feelings. Remember, I love and I apologize again. Blame the exams. Not the student. -noor xx***_

**Marty**

"Are you outta your mind?!" My brother yelled at me, completely enraged.

The sweet touchy family moment was way over by now. We had shared our hugs, our kisses, but now it was time for the inevitable family feud, and boy was Bucky pissed. We've returned from our months of camping out and have come back to the Italian base which we so deeply missed. We stood in my empty bunk. All the other men were probably at the club drinking, dancing, celebrating the fact they were still alive. I sat on the edge of my bed, my arms crossed, reluctantly taking my brother's crap while Steve just stood beside his friend, looking torn.

"You could've _died _Marty. _Died_, Jesus Christ!" Bucky scolded loudly, making wild hand gestures.

"You think I didn't know what I was getting myself into, Bucky?! I knew what was comin', and I was ready for it. Plus, we're both alive, we're both here!" I retorted, shaking my head.

"Okay so we're alive, but maybe next time we won't be so lucky, _you_ won't be so lucky." He said, pointing a finger at me angrily. Luck, did he honestly think I was still alive out of luck? I fought my way through those battles just as much as he did; he saw it with his own damn eyes!

"LUCK?!" I shrieked, my eyes burning holes in my brother's face. "I FOUGHT YOU BASTARD! You know for a fact that luck is the last reason why I'm still here!" I could feel my face burning up as I yelled; the anger spread like wild-fire to every inch of my body. I was god damn pissed.

"YOU BROKE THE LAW! You came here undercover, and for what? For me, did you come here for me?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No, Bucky!" I began, impatiently, my hands balling into fists. I looked over to Steve. He stared back at me softly, giving me a faint smile, which instantly seemed to calm me down a bit. I don't know why exactly, but Steve had that effect on me. "I didn't come here for you, Bucky," I said, addressing my brother though I still had my eyes locked on the captain, "I came to prove myself, fulfill my duty…I did this for me…"

I looked back at my brother. He knew this was a good alibi, he knew it was acceptable because it was the exact same reason why his best friend had joined the army. What was Bucky going to say now? Oh, I was just dying to hear. "You gotta be kiddin' me, Marty?" Bucky said, shaking his head.

And with that my wildfire of a temper was once again inflamed.

"What, that not a good enough reason for you?" I said, loudly, every muscle in body burning with the sensation to grab Bucky and punch him right in the kisser.

"Marty, you come here; you break the law, to prove that women are just as tough as guys, to prove you can be a soldier? You're undercover, brainiac. No one even knows who the hell you are. You're just like any other guy in this war."

I felt as though I had been stabbed in the chest. I was speechless. I knew with every cell I had in me that he was wrong, but his words cut me so deep and what he said quickly began to seep into my mind, becoming the truth…maybe he had a point?

I kept my eyes glued to the ground as my brother persisted on, "You don't belong here Marty…" he said softly, as if trying to make me understand.

"Why?" I asked quietly, not moving my gaze from the floor.

"Because you're not a soldier."

No. He was wrong. He was wrong! The dangerous spark of anger began to rise inside me once again.

I felt my blood boil under my battle-scarred skin, my breath was growing heavier. I could feel Steve's eyes on me.

"Bucky, come on, give her a break." Steve interjected, seriously.

"You're not a soldier and you'll never be a soldier, Marty," Bucky went on, ignoring Steve, torturing me, making my temper rise to dangerous heights, "You're just a woman."

It was as if someone had pulled the pin out of a grenade. My temper reached its limit and I, not being able to hold myself back any longer, raised my hand and slapped my brother right across the face. The room fell in utter silence. "You're wrong!" I spat at him, and stormed out of the bunk, slamming the door behind me.

The snow fell in thick sheets down on the Italian base, but that didn't stop me from getting as far away from the bunk as possible. I persisted on away from the bunk, fuming, walking past the dining hall, the command centers. I marched past the club. I could hear the muffled sounds of swing music, glasses of beer being clunked together, and the sound of laughter. I didn't look back; I just kept walking, with one sentence ringing in my ears…

"_You're just a woman."_

"No…no…" I kept muttering to myself, but my mind was saying another thing.

Maybe Bucky was right. No one even knows that I'm a woman. They don't have the slightest clue that there's a woman on the base that's not here to sign papers and assist the generals, but to fight. I haven't proved myself at all. I'm just like any other guy. I'm just ordinary Joey Brooks.

Between my anger and confliction I had barely noticed where I was. By the looks of it, I ended up in on the training grounds. There was no one in sight. It was just the snow and I…just the snow and Joey Brooks. I didn't even know who I was anymore. Marty Barnes; the name sounded unfamiliar to me now. Where did that girl go…?

My temper seemed to cool down a bit, and I was coming back to my senses. My teeth were shattering and I my body was trembling. I was ankle deep in icy snow, my nose and fingertips were growing numb. I had stormed out of the bunk so quickly that I didn't have a chance to pull on a jacket. So basically I just stood there in nothing but a thin white t-shirt and pants; great. My chest was pretty cozy thanks to the wrap, though. Guess it's good for something...I was starting to think this whole thing was just one, big mistake.

Just as that thought raced through my head, I heard a voice call my name, "Marty!"

Steve's voice echoed out into the bitter, winter night. And despite that fact that I could no longer feel my trembling hands, I felt warmth knowing that Steve had come out here to find me. "Steve, I'm over here," I called into the night. Suddenly, his tall, blonde figure appeared from behind a building. He met my eyes and gave me a sympathetic look before jogging over to me.

"Marty," He said, approaching me, "Are you okay?" He asked concerned, me putting a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm fine, Steve. Don't worry," I began to say, but he was already taking off his large coat and throwing it over my shoulders, going on and on about how cold it was outside and how I might catch a cold.

"What Bucky said, Marty, it's not true," he said, firmly, obviously very sure of what he was saying.

My brother's voice ran through my head again as I pulled Steve's jacket closer on my skin, "No, he is right…" I muttered quietly, accepting the truth of my situation, the truth that I was so stupid to think doing something like this would help me prove myself, "I'm just a woman, Steve." I shamefully looked down to the snow; I couldn't bring myself to look into his eyes, his kind, understanding eyes that have looked at me with such acceptance since the beginning on the summer. I just felt bad for putting him through all this just to say it was for nothing, that it was useless.

"Who are you, and what have you done with Marty Barnes?" He asked.

"Excuse me?" I asked, my head shooting up.

"You're _just a woman_? You fought Marty. You gave up your identity. You put your life on the line to come to this base and fight for what you believed in, to fight for your rights," His voice was rising, "Marty, you _are_ more than just a woman, you're an American soldier, and a god damn good one too. Do you hear yourself? This isn't you… Where's the Marty that could out run the whole damn base, or the Marty that made me take a bullet out of her arm with my bare hands just so she could stay here and fight? Do you remember that time in France when you nearly got blown to pieces just to save Jim, or the time when you beat that armed HYDRA to the ground with nothing but your fists? Do you remember that? I sure do, how could you not? Now, I haven't met a whole lotta woman, Marty, but you're the bravest, toughest one I have met by a long shot. Nobody has to know that you're a woman. You came here, you're doing what's right, and you _are_ a soldier. Doesn't that make you feel good? You're amazing, Marty, the hell with everyone else…"

I couldn't speak; the words were caught in my throat. I just stared up at my captain, suddenly tear stricken. Every single syllable that Steve voiced was sinking into my mind, becoming permanently engraved in my brain. The longer I stared up at Steve the more I wanted to wrap my arms around him and never let go, and so that's what I did. I took a step closer to him and embraced him tightly, resting my head on his chest, tears escaping from my eyes. After a few seconds, Steve hugged me back, wrapping two large arms around me. I could his heart beating fast, and I didn't have to look up at his face to know that he was blushing. I didn't let go for what seemed like forever, I just stood there, taking in his warmth. It was then that I realized how much this man meant in my life, what a huge effect he had on me. I just felt like Steve was mine and I was Steve's, I didn't know what that meant exactly but I was his secret and I really, truly liked it that way. I didn't care if anyone knew my identity or not, I was just glad this guy did.

"Thanks Cap," I said, looking up into his face, which I just realized, was very handsome. I had never really been this close to him before, guess I just never got this good of a look at his face. He had really nice bone structure and his bright blue eyes clashed with the paleness of the snow around us, making them pop. Then for the first time, it wasn't just Steve who was blushing, it was me too…he was really a looker though.

"Anytime, Ma'am," he said, giving me a goofy Roger's smile.

"You thirsty, Cap?" I asked, randomly.

"Now that you mention it, I'm parched," he said, releasing me.

_Clunk, _I put my nearly empty pint of beer down on the table. The pub was a lot warmer than outside. My tears were dry, and instead I wore a wide smile on my face as I looked across the table at Steve. "So," I asked, wiping my mouth off with my arm, "What'd Bucky say to you when I left?"

Steve shrugged, licking his lips, "Boy, was he angry…yeah he said a lot of stuff."

I nodded my head, just imagining the bad things he must've said to Steve, and that I might be to blame if they're no longer friends. "Gee, this is my entire fault, Steve," I said, shaking my head.

"No," Steve said immediately, "I could've told him you're secret the minute I found out, but I didn't. It was my choice."

I sighed, taking another long sip from my pint. "Guess you're right," I said, with a soft laugh, "Sure glad you didn't tell him, though." We sat in silence for a moment, "Hey, you ever been to Coney Island?" I asked, leaning in slightly, smiling.

Steve chuckled, "Yup," he said, absentmindedly as if remembering a faraway memory. "Bucky made me ride The Cyclone…I threw up."

We both burst into laughter, "No way!" I said, "I love that ride, it's my favorite!"

Steve shook his head quickly, "No, my worst nightmare." I just stared at him for moment, trying to hold in my laughter. "What?" He asked, chuckling.

"Sorry, I'm just picturing you on that ride right now," I said, laughing hysterically at my mental image of a much smaller Steve, throwing up. Oh it was cruel, but it was sure funny. Come on, picture it! "I'm sorry…sorry," I managed to get out as Steve just sat there, nodding his head slowly. "Gosh, how I wish I was there…"

"Maybe when this all over, we could…go together?" Steve suggested, sheepishly.

I was starting to think maybe Steve was crushing on me, "I'd love that," I said, and his face lit up like fireworks; maybe he was.

Just then the pub was beginning to fall quiet, and I could hear the sound of a woman's heels, clunking on the wooden floor. I looked up from my pint to see none other than Agent Carter, waltzing up to me and Steve's table. She was wearing a figure flattering, ruby red dress. Her hair was styled in perfect, bouncy brown curls, and she smiled at us with dark red lips. Every eye in the pub was on Agent Carter, especially Steve's.

"Hello boys," she said in her professional, British accent.

"Hey," I said, with unintended bitterness, taking a long manly swig from my pint.

"Agent Carter," Steve greeted her respectfully, gawking at her like an idiot.

I don't know what it was, but there was something about the way Steve gazed up at Peggy with such amazement that made me shift uncomfortably in my seat, and caused me to break out again in the same bitter tone as before, "Lookin' good, Agent Carter."

She barely gave me a sideways glance, "Thank you, Brooks." Then she was right back to staring at Steve. Okay, I was starting to get angry now.

"How are you Steve?" She asked, smiling beautifully at my captain.

"G-good, great…how are you?" He stammered, nervously. He talked to me like that once…the first time we met.

"Great," she replied, "I'd hate to be interrupting something…"

You're interrupting something, lady! In fact, my captain and I were just having a very important conversation and I would appreciate if you took your pretty little ass and walked all to the other side of the pub and found someone else to talk to. Of course, that's what I wanted to say, but instead I said this, "No, no of course not," my voice was a lot cheerier now, but it hung heavily with sarcasm. I raised my pint to my mouth and took another sip; peering at Steve from above the rim…I swear he was practically drooling.

"I was just wondering," She persisted on, "Steve, would you like to dance?"

And at those words, I choked on my beer. I coughed dangerously, struggling to find air as Steve and Peggy just stared at me, worriedly. Dance?! They were going to _dance_? I didn't like this. Not. One. Bit.

"Joey, are you okay?" Steve asked, patting my back.

"Good," I choked out, "A-Okay Cap!"

"Well, then, what do you say?" Peggy said to Steve, smiling hopefully.

Of course he was going to say no. He wouldn't just dump me here alone all by myse—.

"I'd love to."

Ouch.

Then after giving me a small smile, Steve stood up and nervously walked away with Peggy to the dance floor. He left he me…I can't believe he left me! We were just having a talk, and everything he said to me outside. I felt my temper rise dangerously, and I just wish I knew why this was bothering me so much, why this sudden jealously was beginning to eat away at my insides. It's not like I was in love with Steve or anything, but he was mine…not Peggy's.

I wasn't just going to sit there and watch Steve dance with her. I stood up, pulled a few crumpled dollars out of my pocket, left them on the table, and walked out of the pub, taking his jacket with me; he'll have Peggy to keep him warm.


	18. The Barnes Siblings

**_*Okay a few things to address right now! Number one, for all of you asking if I'm doing a sequel based on the Avengers the answer is YES. Okay number two, to the person who reviewed saying that I was only 14 and that you really like the story, thank you for making me smile and just so y'all know I've been 15 since September 27th so yeah. Number three, your reviews for the last chapter made me laugh and smile and I want to cuddle you all. I know this chapter is late, but I had a TERRIBLE writer's block and couldn't get a word down. Anyways, thank you so much for reading and sticking with me. Hope you like this guys! xx Noor*_**

**Steve**

"Sorry," I apologized, as my big, clumsy feet somehow managed to crush Peggy's foot for the third time.

The brunette winced in sudden pain, a kind smile still on her red lips, "It's okay, really," she said, giggling.

She had the band play a slow song; one of my favorites, actually. It's called "Moonlight Serenade", by a guy named Glenn Miller. It didn't have any words. It was simply just a melody, soft, quite, serene. I had my hands on her petit waist and my eyes were directed to the floor as I tried desperately to watch my two left feet from causing more trouble. "Have you never danced before, Captain?" She asked me suddenly.

I looked up into her deep brown eyes, losing my ability to speak for a moment, in which I stepped on her foot once again, "S-sorry, Ma'am."

"Peggy…" she gave this sort of romantic smile, "Just call me Peggy."

I cleared my throaty awkwardly, glancing back down at our feet, "Right, Peggy."

"So, have you ever danced before, I mean, with a partner?"

"Um…you know, I haven't, this is actually my first time," I said, my eyes still on the ground, "But you probably already knew that, huh?"

"Well, judging by the bruising in my toes I'm going to have to say yes," she giggled.

I chuckled and nodded my head, "Yeah…"

"So, I hear you took a bullet for Brooks on your last mission," She said, causing me to feel this hot, sickening, regret.

I guess I wasn't just thinking about it at the moment, but I actually just completely ditched Marty back at the table. I was just so overwhelmed by Peggy, and the dress, and the moment. I took a quick second glance to the table Marty and I was sitting at before. She was gone, leaving nothing but a couple of crumpled up dollars on the table beside an empty pint. Gosh, I hope I didn't hurt her feelings or anything…

"Yeah, I did take a bullet for him," I nodded my head slowly, "It was a close call…"

Then a sudden image popped into my mind. I imagined that it wasn't Peggy's toes that I was stepping on, or her arms that were around my neck, or her lips that were curled into a sweet smile. I imagine that it was Marty. I pictured her dainty body between my hands, her bright blue eyes bursting with happiness. She would probably make fun of me for dancing so badly, and she would let out one of her loud, attention grabbing laughs. I smiled at the thought and then suddenly, as I always did when Marty and I were so close, I began to blush, feeling my stomach flutter. It was then that I realized that it felt…wrong dancing with Peggy, that deep down, despite her tight fitting dress and her fancy perfume, I kinda wished it was Marty who was suffering bruised toes because of me. I meant every word I said out there on the training grounds. Marty was truly amazing…

"You're very brave, Captain," Peggy spoke, bringing me crashing down to reality.

"Oh, thanks, it was nothing really…" I spoke, absentmindedly, not being to fight the urge to glance back at the table, feeling disgusted with my actions. Gosh, how could I have left her like that…? There was a moment of silence in which the brunette rested her head on my chest, and slowly closed her eyes, smiling softly.

"I never really got over it…how shy you got around women," she said, her eyes still closed.

"W-What do you mean?" I asked, my eyes now scanning the club for Marty.

"It's nothing, it's just…it's kind of," she opened her eyes and looked up into mine, "endearing."

I locked eyes with her. Then suddenly, she was leaning in, bringing her plump, red lips closer to mine. I was paralyzed, but she continued to advance forward. I could feel my heart in my throat, my face heating up. Then she pressed her lips to mine.

I didn't know I pulled away so quickly. I didn't know why I was feeling such overwhelming guilt, or why a large part of me was still wishing I was with Marty. I thought I had always liked Agent Carter, like in this way, but there was just something odd in the way her lips felt on mine, like they didn't belong. "I-I'm sorry, Agent Carter," I stammered, dropping my hands from her waist.

"I'm sorry, Captain. I didn't mean to be so forward I was just –," Peggy explained desperately, looking at me with a heart shattering expression as she grabbed on to my arm, trying to pull me back to her.

"No, it's not you, it's just…" I glanced back over at the table, feeling sick to my stomach, "Sorry about your toes, Agent," and I slipped away from her grasp, "Sorry…" I added again quietly, leaving her alone on the dance floor, looking stricken. It didn't feel good, leaving her so suddenly like that, but I was only thinking about one thing.

Did I still have that date to Coney Island?

**Marty**

I walked up the few steps to my bunk, thinking through all the curse words that would apply to Peggy carter as I swung open the door, getting chills at the sudden warmth of the room, I took a single step in, and there, sitting on the edge of my bed with his hands over his face was Bucky, "You still here?" I asked coldly, closing the door behind me. My brother's head shot up. He looked disturbed, a bright red hand mark plastered on his right cheek.

"Yeah…" He said, quietly.

I sighed, looking to the hand mark on his cheek. It was probably stinging him right now, and I hoped it was. Just like how his words were still stinging me, painfully. "You know, Bucky," I said, walking over to the bed across from him and sat on the edge, "I'm not leaving, I don't care what you say or what you think, but this is my life now, and I'm not going back. I'm sorry if you can't understand what my reasons are for being here but –."

"I'm sorry."

I shook my head, confused, "Huh?"

"I'm sorry, Marty," he repeated slowly, pronouncing every syllable as if it would stress how much he meant it, stress his sincerity.

I was wondering what it was that had brought Bucky to this state. Was it the slap across the face that woke him up, or did he realize that what he said to me was cruel and hurtful, and that he had actually said such things to his own sister? I'm not sure which one it was, but I was beginning to think it was both. I wasn't going to say anything, but the words slipped out on their own, "You didn't really mean those things you said did you, Bucky?" and I was surprised at how soft and how sad my tone was, and then suddenly there was a lump in my throat. I guess I was more hurt than I thought, but damn, I really hated crying.

Bucky looked like he was going to be sick as he shook his head. "No, no, no, don't cry, Marty," he said, worriedly, rushing over to sit next to me.

"I ain't gonna cry," I mumbled, wiping the tears from my eyes with the sleeve of Steve's oversized jacket before they could fall.

Bucky smiled softly, "I didn't mean a damn thing," he said, trying to meet my eyes, but I kept mine glued to the duty floor, "You understand me?"

"Then why'd you say it?" I said, feeling the hot tears coming back.

"I was angry, Marty. You gotta understand, I've been feeling something kinda fishy about you since the beginning. I think I'd recognize my own sister, but I just couldn't walk up 'Joey' and ask him if he was my sister, could I? Marty, I've been worried sick about you since the start. I didn't know if you were out with us on the battlefield, or if you were at home. You're my little sister; I don't want you to get hurt. That's why I said those things, because I was scared."

A tear rolled down my cheek, "How'd you know it was me?"

"I know you when I see you, Marty. Plus, I sent you a letter to New York, I was thinking that if you wrote back to me then I'd know you were safe, but I never got a reply."

I could see it now, the mail man strolling up to our home in Brooklyn, slipping the letter through the mail slot and it just lying there on the floor, an unopened envelope, accumulating dust for the rest of the war. "You were really that worried?" I said, looking up at my brother, our eyes finally meeting.

"Hell yeah," he said, smiling softly, "I just tried to keep you safe as much as possible, but Steve looked like he was kinda looking after you too."

I smiled to myself, wiping my tears away and sniffling, "Yeah, Steve's saved my ass a few times." I cleared my throat, "but Bucky, I'm not leaving, not this far into the war."

My brother sighed deeply, shaking his head as he turned his gaze to the floor, "Marty…it's real dangerous."

"I know," I said, calmly, putting my hand over his.

He looked up at me, his face uncertain, but he spoke, "Well I can't tell you what to do, not like you'd listen to me even if I did."

"Good point," I said with a soft laugh. "So are you okay with Joey Brooks? Will you keep his secret?" I asked, nudging my brother slightly with my elbow.

Bucky chuckled and nodded his head, "Hell yeah I am."

And just like that the weight of the world was lifted off my shoulders. My brother was on my side, he was on board. I realized now that this whole time this is all I've really wanted. All I've wanted was Bucky to know who I was and to accept me as one of the soldiers. I sighed and wrapped my arms around Bucky, hugging him tightly.

"You're the craziest dame I've ever met you know that, right?" he said, wrapping his muscular arms around me tightly.

"I know."

**In a jail cell on the Italian base**

The doctor stared up at the blank ceiling on his jail cell, his back rested on his uncomfortable mat. The only light in the room seeped in from the few bars on the heavy metal door that was keeping him captive in here. He was their prisoner now, the American's prisoner. The mere thought of being under control of the enemy made his skin crawl. Zola had left his leader all alone, back at the secret HYDRA base location, but they had planned for this. Schmidt had devised a plan, and it was flawless.

You see Red Skull has wanted revenge on a certain American for quite some time, and it wasn't the infamous Star Spangled Man. It was one of the Captain's nearest and dearest; Joey Brooks. A fellow soldier and team mate apparently, but that's not why Schmidt wanted his hands on Brooks. He had bumped into the loud mouthed soldier a couple of times before. The first time he had stolen his precious serum and the second time Schmidt managed to plant a bullet in his shoulder, but Brooks was still alive and Schmidt needed a guinea pig for his newly made serum.

Zola had gone over the plan in his head over a hundred times. HYDRA was going to take out this base when the Americans least expected it; tonight. Zola's job was to rally up a few HYDRA soldiers and capture Brooks. Then he and Schmidt would make a run for it and head back to Germany with their captive. Then they could see the true power of their serum, and the whole world would see the true power of HYDRA.


	19. HYDRA's Captive

**_*Hi! I feel accomplished, you know I updated pretty quick this time! Anyways, here's number 19, important chapter. Thank you all for your kind reviews and I hope you enjoy this :) xx Noor*_**

**Marty**

_BOOM! _

I shot upright in bed; my eyes were as wide as the moon that hung in the sky beyond the dirty bunk window. Other men began to stir in their beds, sitting up straight, looking confused and curious. One of the men, Gilmore, turned to me from his bed. "Did you hear that Brooks?" He asked, firmly.

"Yeah…"

_BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! _Then loud, ear-splitting alarms began to blare, throwing the bunk into a fit of chaos. I and every other man were on our feet, shoving on boots, grabbing weapons. Because that alarm only meant one thing; they were invaders on the base, "Move, move, move!" I heard General Philip's voice echo from outside. I was about to run out of the bunk with the rest of the men, but I couldn't help but feel like I was missing something.

_BOOM! _Another explosion.

My heart was pounding, my mind was fuzzy. I couldn't think straight. Then it hit me. My mother's bandana! I quickly threw open my side table drawer and rummaged through it, "Brooks?!" That was the general, calling my name.

"Y-yes sir?!" I called back, finally spotting the patriotic pattern.

"GET YOUR ASS OUT OF THIS BUNK, SOLDIER! WE GOT VISITORS!"

At this point I was already tightening the bandana around my arm, "Yes sir!" I bolted out of the bunk and towards General Philips. He stood in full uniform, a large machine gun in his grasp. "General," I said, approaching him, "What's goin' on, Sir?"

"These bastards were planning a surprise attack the whole time, Brooks. HYDRA's gaining way, get out there son!" He said urging me towards the chaos of a battle.

"Right," I gave him a single nod of my head and speeded off to the core of the battle.

I couldn't believe my eyes. HYDRA tanks were parked all around, armed and shooting; the evil symbol of skulls and snakes met my eyes everywhere I looked. The general was right; HYDRA had been planning this attack for a while now. He was also right about HYDAR having the upper hand; I saw a lot more masked soldiers than American one's as I scanned the battlefield. I pulled out my fully loaded gun, and took out the first HYDRA I saw, this fight was just getting started.

Bullet after bullet, I shot through the air. I could barely hear the sound of my gun being shot because of all the explosions. Every few feet a grenade was going off. I ran through the crowd of soldiers, fighting like I had never fought before. After what seemed about 15 minutes I was drenched in sweat, I had to re-load my gun twice, and had a pretty nasty blow to my jaw and stomach, leaving the taste of blood in my mouth and making me nauseas.

I had my back pressed tightly against an American tank, catching my breath. Just then, I heard my name. "Marty!" It was Steve's voice, and he sounded close.

I peeked out from behind the tank and scanned the rousing battle for the captain. "Steve!" I called back in hopes that he would hear my voice. All I could see in front of me was chaos. Soldier after soldier hit the ground, taking their final breath; there were bunks aflame, casting black smoke into the dark night, making it difficult to breath. The base was going down right before my eyes, falling to pieces. The once safe vibe of the Italian base was gone and I felt, for the first time since almost losing Bucky on that train, paralyzing fear. "Captain?!" I called, my voice shaking in worry, "Ste—."

"Marty watch out!"

_BOOM!_

I felt a great force hit me like a brick wall, sending me crashing to the ground. I felt this blinding pain in my spine, my head was aching, my vision was blurred. I shook my head trying to gain composure from the explosion. I blinked a few times and it was only then that I noticed that there was a person on top on top of me, shielding me from the explosion's debris with a red, white, and blue shield. "Steve?" I said, my vision coming into focus.

He looked down at me, worry swimming in his bright blue eyes. He had a deep gash on his face, single drop of sweat hung on the tip of his nose, and his breath was heavy. His face was only inches away from mine as he spoke, "Marty, are you okay?"

I stared up into his handsome face for a moment in shock, "Yeah…" I said, placing a hand gently on his cut cheek, "You're bleeding."

"Eh, I've been through worse," he said, with a small smile, "But so are you." He said, putting a finger right beside my injured lip.

"It's just a scratch…"

I don't know what the hell was happening, but I forgot I was in the middle of a battle for a second. I just felt this overwhelming urge to kiss Steve. Don't ask me why, because I have no clue. I'm thinking maybe it's because he has been with me this whole time, that he has saved my ass more times than I could remember, that he believes in me and that he trusts me, that he told me I was special, and that he makes me smile, but that's just what I think.

But then I remembered that I was angry with this amazing man in front of me, and that he wasn't feeling an overwhelming urge to kiss me back. He had probably just finished kissing Agent Carter. Then instead of wanting to kiss the guy, I suddenly wanted to punch him in the neck. "Okay, get off," I said, pushing him away from me.

"Let me help you," Steve said, leaning back down to help me, giving me the kinda look you would get from a puppy when you take away its chew toy.

I shook my head, pushing myself up off the ground, "I don't need your help, Cap. Why don't you go see if your girlfriend is okay?" I said, bitterly, feeling angry with myself for even wanting to kiss him.

"Girlfriend?" He said, confused. I opened my mouth to speak, but there were a couple HYDRA soldiers heading our way, armed.

Steve readied his shield and I raised my gun into the air. They charged towards us, not wasting any time. One came towards me, fighting with nothing but a dagger, but it had rough edges and glistened with sharpness. He tried to get me in the chest, but I blocked his attack. I glanced behind my back for a split second and saw that Steve was in the middle of taking out a HYDRA with his shield, but it was a dumb move because I had lost focus from my opponent and now he had the upper hand. "HAIL HYDRA!" he yelled. I quickly turned back to face my opponent. The HYDRA was about to throw his dagger through the air and into my heart, but Steve's shield came flying through the sky, hitting the HYDRA square in the chest, and knocking him to the floor.

"Stop saving me, dammit!" I exclaimed, turning to face the captain, "I can take care of myself."

"Marty, what girlfriend?" he said, ignoring what I had just said.

"Oh, don't play dumb, Steve," I said, as more HYDRA soldiers spotted us, "Incoming," I warned him, readying my weapon again.

We went to work. Two HYDRA's came towards me, guns in their hands; I worked fast. Quickly, I aimed my gun at the HYDRA's hand and pulled the trigger, planting a bullet in this wrist. He yelped in pain, dropping his weapon to the floor. I kneeled down as fast as I could to pick it up, but another soldier came, took his heavy rubber boot, and kicked me right in the face. I fell backwards onto the ground, I could feel warm blood trickling out of my probably broken nose, but I stood back up. I grabbed my gun and shot the HYDRA right between his eyes. He hit the floor. I turned to face Steve, he had taken out yet another couple of HYDRA soldiers, but the gash on his face was bleeding pretty badly now.

"Wait," he said, out of breath, "You don't mean Peggy do you?"

I sighed and wiped the blood of my face with my arm, getting blood on my mother's bandana. "Congrats Cap, you can think."

"Marty, I'm sorry I left you back at the club. I wasn't thinking, but when I was dancing with her I felt so bad, and then when she kissed me I –."

"You _kissed her_?" I said, wide-eyed, my blood boiling to extreme temperatures.

"No, no, she kissed me," he said, quickly, shaking his head.

I groaned shaking my head, getting utterly frustrated with my emotions and with the fact that I knew by now that what I was feeling was jealousy. I just didn't know why I was so jealous, and I didn't want to be.

I could hear an explosion in the distance, "I don't really care, Steve!" I said, completely contradicting myself.

"No offense, Marty, but it kinda looks like you do."

"She's just not right for you!" I said in defense.

"And why not?" Steve asked, looking completely lost.

"She doesn't know you, Steve."

"Maybe she'll get to know me, with time?"

"No she's not your type!"

"Then what is my type?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know? But it's not her." I looked him straight in the eyes, and felt my heart flutter, "She thinks you're all big hotshot Captain Rogers with the nice bone structure and a fancy shield, but that's not who you are. You're this sweet little scrawny kid who threw up at Coney Island, can't dance save his life, and who doesn't understand one god damn thing about women, and she'll never see that because she doesn't know you."

Not like how I knew him…

I got it now. That's why I was feeling so jealous, so angry with Peggy, with Steve. Because I was the one who knew so much about Steve. We were completely comfortable around each other, we were happy around each other and the fact that he just left me like a sack of potatoes back at the club for a woman who barely knew a thing about him, made me feel like I was nothing.

"Marty I –." Steve began, but then something huge happened.

There was a deafening explosion. I could no longer see Steve, or the tanks, or the buildings. I was suddenly lying on my back, gasping for air, surrounded by nothing but clouds of dust and dirt. My ears were ringing, and all I could hear was the very distant, much muffled sound of Steve calling my name, but he was absolutely nowhere in sight. Suddenly, I felt four; very strong hands come and grab hold of my arms. I could see them, two HYDRA soldiers, one pulling me up from my right arm, and the other from my left. "Get off!" I said, thrashing as they hoisted me up on my feet, but their grasp was unusually tight. I felt them begin to drag me somewhere and pure shock and fear overtook me. "Get off!" I said, flaying around, trying to fight my way out of their grasp. "Steve! Ste—," one HYDRA put his hand over my mouth, continuing to drag me along the dirt.

"Get him in zere!" I heard a third voice say, the painfully familiar, voice of Zola.

Then suddenly I was being flung into the back of what seemed like a car. My back hit hard metal floor of the car. I immediately tried to get up, there was no way I was gonna let these bastards take me! I stood up, but those two soldiers had joined me in the back of the truck and now I was being pinned to the floor. "No! Damn it!" I cried, trying everything in power I could to get free, to get out of their grasp.

"Hail HYDRA!" One of the soldiers said, holding me down.

I spat in that bastard's face, squirming as the truck roared to life and began to slowly move along the dirt. "Let go of me!"

"Shut up, American!" Zola said, furious.

"Never!" I cried back in rebellion, but then the small man took his foot and slammed it against my temple.

I felt a sharp pain and that's the last thing I could remember.


	20. The Beginning of the War

**_* I made you wait a long time didn't I...? Sorry guys! Thanks for all your sweet reviews. I'm trying to work on an updating schedule for you guys, because I can't keep delaying chapters like this. Sorry, hope you like it, though. Love you! xx*_**

**Steve**

It all happened so fast. One second I was back to back with Marty, fighting off the HYDRAs. Then, suddenly the explosion hit.

I didn't know what the hell was going on or where Marty was. All I could see in front of me was dirt and dust and all I could hear were the sounds of explosions and gun shots. "Marty!" I called out, loudly, fear and sickening worry conquering body, my actions, and my mind. "MARTY!" I called again, but another explosion went off, overpowering my voice. My heart was beating at record time as it found its way into my throat. I got back up on my wobbly legs, running to where I last saw Marty, but she was nowhere to be found. "Marty!" I called again, as the dust began to clear. I could see the battle now and it was still going strong.

Bunks were falling to ashes, men dropped to the floor like flies. I scanned the area desperately for my best friend's sister, but with no luck. Then, my eyes caught sight of something a few yards away, and a fire of hope sparked in me; I saw a bandana, _her_ bandana. I raced up to it without a moment to lose, wanting nothing more but to find Marty lying there next to it, but as I approached the patriotic pattern on the ground, I knew that wasn't the case. It was just the bandana, no Marty, no anyone.

I cursed, kneeling down to pick it up. I took the now blood stained and tattered fabric in my slightly trembling hand. It was all torn up and singed a bit on the edges, looking frail. I gripped the bandana in a fist, gritting my teeth. I know what happened to her. HYDRA took Marty, didn't they?

"Steve!"

I spun around at the sound of my name to see none other than Bucky, limping towards me. He walked awkwardly, leaning forward to clutch his ankle. "Bucky!" I said, rushing over to him, immediately throwing my arm over him to give him some support. His had a thin streak of blood streaming from his hairline, his face was covered in dirt and sweat, and he held on to his ankle, biting down hard on his lower lip, obviously pretty hurt. "You okay?"

He nodded his head, slowly, "Never been better," he said through gritted teeth.

"Your ankle, what happened?" I asked, glancing down at his foot which looked limp and lifeless.

"I think I broke my ankle," he shook his head, "Not the point, you okay?" he asked, out of breath.

"Fine," I said, looking down at the bandana in my fist, "Better than some…"

Bucky confusedly looked down at my hand. His blue eyes widened as soon instantaneously, "Marty…" he said, breathlessly, looking back up at me, "Where is she, Steve? What happened to her?" His voice was rising; his face had gone as pale as the snow on the ground.

"They took her." I said, not wanting to admit it. Hate, pure, raw, fiery hate for a man name Johann Schmidt was now nestled inside of me, and if the war wasn't personal before, it sure was now. I was going to get Marty back to me if it was the last thing I ever did. And to think we were just fighting over a dance…

"Those bastards!" Bucky exclaimed, taking the bandana from my hand, "This is all my fault…."

"Bucky, it isn't your fault," I said, trying to stay calm in the chaos, "There was an explosion, we were separated, there was no way we could've seen this coming."

"I should've sent her home when I had the chance, Steve. She could've been safe…" He said, running a hand roughly through his hair.

"Bucky, stop!" I begged him as another explosion went off, "We'll get her. This war isn't over. It's just gettin' started."

"We've been ambushed, soldiers." The general said, baring a new deep scar beside his thin lips.

HYDRA was gone, the battle had passed, and now our once strong, safe base lay in ash. Only a couple bunks were still standing, the infirmaries were nearly all destroyed which is just making it harder for the doctors to tend to the wounded. We were in pretty bad shape, not to mention Marty, who was god knows where…

Luckily for us the command center was still up and running. Philips, Stark, Agent Carter, the team, Bucky, and I all sat around the usual round wooden table deep in the command center, planning our next attack. Philips was going on about how HYDRA managed to take us on when we least expected it, but I wasn't paying much attention at all, and neither was Bucky. We both sat across from each other, exchanging looks of anger and disgust for HYDRA every now and then. I just couldn't handle the fact that Marty was in the hands of Schmidt while I sat here, planning an attack. For the first time, though, I didn't want a plan, I didn't need one. I just needed Marty back. That's all.

"Now, we lost a lot of men last night," Philips said, and everyone at the table looked to the empty seat beside me that once belonged to Marty.

"Joey wasn't killed sir," I said, as calmly as my anger would allow, "He was captured…"

"Um yes, along with another 50 or so men," Peggy added, clearing her throat awkwardly. She didn't look as neat and put together as usual, but on the other hand, after last night, none of us did.

"Brooks was captured?" The general asked.

I opened my mouth to speak, but Bucky interjected, slamming his fist down on the table, making me jump and Peggy gasp, "It's not Brooks who got captured last night, General. It was Barnes."

My jaw dropped, I couldn't believe my ears. Could it be that all of Bucky's anger, all the blame he's been putting on himself got to him this much that he was giving away his sister's secret, giving away her identity. I stood up, "Bucky, no." I said, sternly, shaking my head, "We promised."

"No, Steve, _you_ promised." He replied, "If it wasn't for that damn secret Marty wouldn't be in this mess in the first place, she would've been safe!"

"What the hell is going on here, Barnes?" The general asked gravely, leaning in slightly.

The room fell in silence; all eyes were directed towards Bucky. I held my breath as Bucky released a deep one. I met his eyes and shook my head, begging him to sit down, to keep quiet.

"Joey Brooks is just a cover up." Bucky said, still looking at me. What the hell was he doing? I was speechless… "The soldier that was captured last night was named Marty Barnes; my sister." Bucky looked over at the general, who's eyes brows were raised do high up his forehead they might as well just be part of his hair. "She came here undercover as a man to be a soldier."

"Joey was a lady?" One of my team members, Morita, asked, dumfounded. Bucky nodded his head, confidently. He didn't regret his decision at all.

"That son of a bitch…" The general said, shaking his head, "And you knew about this, Captain?" Philips shot his head towards me. I stood up.

"Yes, sir, I did," I said, firmly. Maybe it wasn't right to give away her secret, but I was going to defend Marty, because I know she had good intentions. "She did it all in good favor, sir."

"I can't believe it…" Peggy said from her seat, looking disappointed, "Is that why you didn't want to kiss me, Steve?" She asked, looking up at me.

"Peggy I –." I began, my cheeks growing hot.

"This isn't time for your love story, Rogers! Are you aware that you and your two sidekicks here have committed a felony and therefore shall be sentenced to prison?"

"Maybe general, but Marty did this to prove herself." I said, feeling relief in finally being able to speak her name out loud. I looked over to Bucky who smiled subtly at me, urging me to go on.

"She is a criminal, Captain!" The general persisted.

"Yes, but she's also a soldier, and a god damn good one too. There's no denying it. Marty was one of the best soldiers any of us had ever seen, am I right?" I said, looking around at the rest of the men. "She saved your lives; she was always willing to take one for the team. Marty was fast and strong and skilled. She wanted to show everyone that she had what it took to be a soldier, to prove herself as a woman, to show that she had a purpose. Not to mention she was a good person, a great person…" I seemed to lose my train of thought, getting lost in her memory, "Marty was brave…she's more than just a woman."

There was a silence. Everyone just sat, taking in the situation, taking in the truth. Then finally, Dum Dum spoke up. "Cap's right, fellas. He – I mean she – was pretty bad ass." He said, with a hardy chuckle, easing the tension a bit.

"Yeah, I remember when she pushed me out of the way of that grenade in France," Falsworth said, "I owe her one."

"We have to save her, General," Morita added, "We don't leave our team behind."

"The hell with the team," Philips said, shaking his head, "She's going to jail."

"Fine," Bucky said, "But she'll never get to court if we don't get her from HYDRA, and whether you approve or not, general, I'm getting my sister back."

The general glared furiously at Bucky, he had just disrespected him in front of the whole crew, but Bucky didn't show an ounce of shame, and neither did I. Marty was much more important than pleasing Philips. "What do you think they'll do to her?" Peggy asked, tears in her dark brown eyes.

"Chances are they're going to test out their new serum," Stark interjected, looking a bit struck by the new information.

"You think they'll use it on her?" I asked loudly, sudden fear paralyzing me.

"I think so, Cap," Stark said, nodding his head slowly.

I looked over at Bucky whose wide eyes and hard expression told me that he was just as scared as I was. We don't know what HYDRA's got in their serum. It could be completely different from the one I took, she could get hurt, and she could be killed.

"General," Peggy said, suddenly, "If HYDRA's Soldier Serum is successful on Barnes then they might turn to use it on the rest of their soldiers. If you're not going to do this for Marty then at least do it for the war, this could be dangerous. They already have the Tesseract. God knows what power they'll have with that serum."

The general cursed under his breath. He stared down at the surface of the table, not blinking, not moving. The room fell into silence once again…

I didn't give a damn whether Philips was going to agree or not, but I had my mind made up. For the past months I have been keeping her secret, hiding her identity. She put her trust in me that night in the bunk, sure she had no other choice, but that's not the point, we've had each other's backs for this war and there's no way in hell I'm leaving her behind. "General," I said, making his head shoot up from its downcast, "I'm going to save her; I don't care what it takes or what it costs me. Marty is my…" I couldn't find the word exactly. What was Marty to me? Sure she was my best friend's sister, but she was more than that. What do you call someone you don't like to go a day without, or someone who you never get bored of seeing, or can't seem to get angry at? I couldn't figure it out, so I just said, "…friend. I won't leave her behind."

The general sighed, "That son of a bitch… I swear…" Philips cleared his throat, "We're all going, for the war, not for Barnes."

I looked over at Bucky; he was smirking slightly, nodding his head. "So where is HYDRA's location?" Bucky asked, crossing his arms.

Stark pulled out a manila folder and opened it up, "New information tells us they're in the Alps," he pulled out photos of snowy mountains, and built right into the rock was HYDRA's base.

"Right," I said, taking the photos in my hands, looking over them, "We need to move as fast as we can."

"That was quiet unexpected, Captain," Peggy said, walking over to me after the meeting, just as I was about to leave the room, it was just me and her.

"Yeah, I know…" I said, rubbing the back of my neck awkwardly.

We stood silent for a moment, and then she was the one that surprised me, "Are you in love with her, Steve?"

"Wha-what?" I stammered, shocked by her question, "Marty?"

"That's why you pulled away from the kiss so quickly, isn't it? You're in love with her." She said, disappointedly, looking down at her hands.

"Peggy I—."

"It's okay, Steve. I thought I saw something suspicious about Marty. I knew there was something off…but the way you look at her, Steve. It was pretty obvious, to a woman that it."

I shook my head, "Wait, what are you talking about? How do I stare at her?"

"You just have this look in your eyes, like you don't know what you would do without her, like she is the most beautiful thing you've ever seen…like you just want to kiss her," Peggy said, looking up at me just like that, and then her eyes started to twinkle with tears.

I didn't know what to say to that. "I-I don't do that." I said, thinking back to the times I was with Marty. It's somewhat true, I don't know what I would do without her, and Marty is beautiful, I mean I've told her that to her face, but wanting to kiss her? I don't know…

"It's okay, Steve, we're going to get her back, I'm sorry I kissed you…"

Then she just walked out.


	21. The Super Soldier

**_*Hey guys! So this is a very eventful chapter. It took me a pretty long time to write, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I just wanna thank you all again for all your kind words and encouragement. You are all so sweet, really. I hope you enjoy number 21! See you, guys. -Noor xx*_**

**Marty**

I slowly opened up my eyes, immediately greeted by a sharp pain at my temple. Damn, Zola must've kicked me pretty hard; that bastard. I opened my eyes more fully, taking in my surroundings, where ever that may be. I was sitting on cold, stone floor in my blood stained army uniform, I was in the same clothes I was kidnapped in. I stood up on my aching legs, a quick jolt of pain shot through my skull, making me gasp. I cringed, trying hard to focus on where I was.

It was only then that I noticed what was in front of me; bars. I was in cell, probably deep down in HYDRA's secret location, being held captive. I stumbled over to the bars with my weak legs, and held on to the sturdy steel, looking out of my cell. There were other cells besides mine but they were all empty. It was just me down here in this dark, cold dungeon.

How did I let myself get captured by these bastards? It all happened so fast. One second I was fighting with Steve, yelling at him, and the next I was being blown back into the air and dragged into the back of a truck. Damn, Steve…I was such a jerk to him. I got to admit, I was angry, I was jealous, but if he wants to be with Peggy then who am I to stop him? It's not like we had a special connection, it's not like I put my faith in him for months, trusting him with my biggest secret, or that we could talk for hours on end, reminiscing of our hometown while making plans to meet up at a god damn amusement park.

Damn it, there I go again! Why was I feeling like this, why did I want to kiss Steve so badly back on the base? I didn't like him like that, as far as I know. Maybe this is just a phase, maybe seeing Steve ditch me for Peggy got me mad because I am one of his closest friends? That still doesn't explain why I wanted to kiss him though… Jee, why does being a lady have to be so difficult? I swear, sometimes I wish I was a guy.

Just then, the sound of thick, rubber boots clunking down the hall brought me out of my tangled thoughts. My head shot up. I peered down the hall from behind the bars; there were two masked guards approaching my cell quickly. They were probably going to take me to Schmidt, but I wasn't going to let that happen. I had a plan.

As their footsteps grew louder, I hastily rushed back to my place at the wall. I sat back down on the cold floor, making my body look as limp and lifeless as possible, rested my head on the brick wall of the cell, and shut my eyes. My heart rate began to accelerate as I heard the two guards approach my cell. I heard a key turn and the cell door swing open with a screech that echoed down the empty hall. Their footsteps traveled through the floor beneath me and before I knew it they each had one of my arms in their grasp.

They picked me up off the ground; one of them muttered something in German that, going by his harsh tone, sounded a lot like an insult. I tried my best to stay as lifeless as I could to give the affect that I was still unconscious. They practically dragged me halfway down of the hall. I peeked my eyes open just a slit. There was about a couple yards left to the hall and then there was a short staircase that spiraled up into a bright, white light, which was probably the main floor of the base. That was my way out.

I took in a deep breath, letting the guards drag me one last foot along the stone floor. This was my chance! I shot open my eyes, and stood up straight, immediately sinking a fist into one of the guard's stomach, making him fall to his knees with a groan. I turned to the other one, ready to knock him out but he was prepared. He took his gloved hand and grabbed hold my neck, slamming me into the brick wall. I choked for air, trying to get free, my heart beating at record time. I was not dying here! I did the only thing I could. I tilted my head down and sunk my teeth into the HYDRA's arm. I didn't know how hard I was biting him, but I could taste blood in my mouth. He yelled in pain, pulling away from my neck for just enough time for me to make run for it, and that's exactly what I did.

I bolted down the dark hall and reached the staircase, taking a quick glimpse behind my shoulder. The HYDRA was chasing right after me, blood dripping from his arm. I felt a jolt of fear shoot through me and I immediately began running up the staircase. I didn't look back; I just kept my feet moving up the metal steps until I reached the main level of the base.

My feet reached white marble floor. I was on the main level now. There were a few guards in the hall. Instantaneously, they all looked to me, pointed their fingers, and began yelling commands at one another. "Shit!" I cursed, beginning to run the opposite way of the guards down the hall. I was pretty popular around here, wasn't I? I had no idea where I was going. I was beginning to think I should've thought out this plan a little more thoroughly, but I was never good at planning; that was Steve's job.

As I raced down the unfamiliar hall, I came face to face with two halls. There was on the left and one on the right. "Come on, Marty, c'mon Barnes…" I said, impatiently to myself with heavy breaths. I could hear the guards getting closer, and by the sound of it, they weren't too happy. "Damn!" I said, and ran down the left hall without even thinking about it.

They were gaining on me, and I didn't have to look over my shoulder to know. I ran as fast as my aching legs would take me, but as I approached the end of the hall, I knew I was screwed. It was a dead end, a god damn dead end. I cursed turning around, pressing my back to the metal wall as the guards approached me. There was no way out. They rushed over to me. Two guards came, grabbed me by my shoulders, and threw me to the floor. I stayed quiet as the right side of my face pressed roughly against the tile. They took my arms, put them behind my back, and tightly handcuffed me. Yup, definitely should've planned it out more.

The hoisted me up on my feet, speaking words I could barely understand. All I got from their conversation as they led me back down the hall was the word 'Schmidt'. Guess I knew where I was going now. The guards enclosed me in a circle as I was guided down the hall, there was no other thing to do but follow them. I reluctantly walked, my legs still burning from all the running, my chest heaving up and down as I tried to regain some breath, and all I could think about was Steve, and if that fight was the last conversation I'd ever have with him…

"Vait 'ere," One of the guards said, pushing me into an unfamiliar room. I stumbled in, still handcuffed.

"Hail HYDRA!" all the guards said in unison before leaving the room and closing the door behind themselves.

Great, now where was I?

The room was big, very spacious. A large glass window showed snowy mountains tops and a white sky. Where did these bastards take me? I kept looking around. There were a couple tables and on them lay science looking equipment; microscopes, test tubes, and notepads filled with messy cursive handwriting. Someone was working very hard in here. I turned away from the tables and my jaw dropped. Because standing before me was something I couldn't even recognize. It looked like some kind of iron coffin to me. It was large, oval shaped, made completely out of metal with a small rectangular window at the top. I leaned over, peeking inside the small window. It was pretty dark in there, but it looked like it was made for a person, for a _prisoner_.

Beside it was a large control board, I'm guessing. It had an endless number of button and dials, and one silver lever that looked especially important. I didn't want to know what this thing did, and I had a scary hunch that if I stuck around any longer then I would find out the hard way. I scanned the room desperately for a way out; a trap door, an air vent, anything, but with no luck. I was trapped.

Just when things couldn't get anymore unsettling, something caught my eye. It was a contraption in the corner of the room, and a bright, blue glow emitted from it. Could that be…? I cautiously walked towards the metal contraption, inching towards it slowly. There was a small container in the heart of it. I kneeled down and looked through the glass. I was right. It was the Tesseract. There it sat, perfectly geometrical, beaming brightly, looking as beautiful and as lethal as the last time I saw it.

"You're up."

My heart stopped in my chest at the sound of Johann Schmidt's voice. I had to admit, I was pretty uneasy about that coffin looking thing, but I wouldn't dare show him a hint of fear. I stood up and turned to my enemy confidently. He stood with his hands behind his back, red as ever, and beside him were two Steve Rogers sized guards. "Yeah, I would've been up early but your pet kicked me pretty hard in the head." I said, casually, looking him dead in the eye, fearless, though my heart was beating rapidly.

He laughed, throwing his head back in utter pleasure. "My pet, you say?"

"You heard me," I said, in the same causal tone, my eyes flickering from Schmidt, to the guards, to that troubling machine as my handcuffed palms began to grow sweaty.

"That was quite a scene you caused back there, _Brooks_. You nearly out ran my men." Schmidt spoke Joey's name with an eerie smile. Right, I forgot, he thought I was a man.

"Thanks, I try." I said, smiling right back at him. He walked towards the machine, placing a leather gloved hand on its surface.

"Yes, I'm quite familiar with your speed, Brooks. You've gotten away from us before, once with something very valuable….a serum, _my_ serum." He said, stroking the metal slowly.

"That's right, how did that Super Soldier business work out for ya?" I asked, completely stalling, my nerves rising.

"Well, Brooks, I think," He looked back at me, smirking. "I think you're just about to find out."

Just then the doors opened once more, and in came Zola, a silver crate in his small hand. "Sir, ze serum is ready."

Oh no. I tried to keep my face as straight as I could.

"Right on time, Doctor, right on time," Schmidt said, walking back to the door, taking the crate from Zola. Then he turned to the guards, and commanded harshly, "Get him."

The two guards didn't waste any time. They rushed over to me and grabbed me roughly. "Let go of me!" I said, thrashing in their arms, but they might as well be deaf. They held me tightly, un-cuffing me.

"He needs to remove his shirt and jacket before ve can continue viz ze procedure," Zola added, pushing the round glasses up his face.

Procedure?! My heart was beating like mad now and my legs felt like jelly. "What the hell are you gonna do to me, Schmidt?" I yelled at him as the guards took off my jacket, oh no, they were going to take my top off too. My secret…

I watched as Schmidt put the crate down on one of the tables. He opened it up, revealing numerous test tubes containing blue liquid, containing Super Soldier serum. "You are going to be our first test subject. You see, after you stole our last serum, I had Doctor Zola here make a new one, but I guess I should thank you; the last one was weak," Schmidt said, taking one of the test tubes in hand, "This one is meant to be much more…_effective_."

I felt my body go into panic mode. No, no, I didn't want to be a super soldier! I couldn't let them do this to me! I kept lashing, trying to get away from the guards. My jacket now lay on the floor. "His shirt, get his shirt off!" Zola spat, hurriedly.

"Stay still!" One of the guards yelled in my ear, and together they both managed to get my top off, revealing a tightly wrapped chest.

"Take zat off too," Zola commanded.

The guards began to unwrap me. I was helpless, their grasp was too tight. Then, before I knew it, I stood, completely exposed, feeling violated, with my very womanly chest hanging right out. The guards immediately dropped me to the floor. I fell to my knees and quickly covered my chest with my arms, fuming. I had never felt so angry in all of my years than that very moment. Schmidt pissed me off, and he may not have been glad that he did.

The room fell into complete silence. Schmidt's face was blank, he looked lost for words. Zola stood, his mouth hanging wide open, his eyes wide. "Doctor, what is the meaning of this?" Schmidt asked, still eyeing me furiously.

"Sir, I-I had n-no idea he was a…a—."

"A WOMAN?!" Schmidt bellowed, making the small man jump.

"What exactly is that supposed to mean, you bastard?!" I yelled at the red man, feeling my anger reach an all-time high. I stood up, my arms still concealing my chest. "Just a few seconds ago you were ready as hell to put me in… whatever that thing is," I said, looking up at the machine, "But now that you found out I'm a girl, you're backing out?" I said, furiously.

Schmidt smiled, "Well, if you insist." He turned to the guards, "Put her in."

The panic returned. One guard held my slightly quivering body, half shaking out of anger, and half out of fear, while the other opened the heavy metal door of the machine. Inside looked like a death chamber; it was a long, black, leather stretcher, like the kind of things prisons put you in when you're on death roll. I couldn't think straight, I wanted to escape, I wanted to run, I wanted more than anything for Steve and Bucky to come crashing through that door and rescue me, but it wasn't going to happen. For once, Steve wasn't going to save me. I was on my own.

"NO!" I yelled as the guard pushed me towards the machine, forcing me on to the hard leather mattress. I could barely hear Schmidt's maniacal laughing from how loud my heart was beating; it was getting pretty hard to hide my fear now. "You can't do this." I said, angrily, my voice shaking. "This is illegal," I said, as the guards strapped my legs and arms tightly to the machine. I felt so exposed and degraded. Damn, I really wished I was a man now.

"Illegal? Like how going undercover as the man you so clearly are not to sneak into the army is illegal? Then yes, it's very illegal." Schmidt said, coldly, making me lose my ability to speak for a second.

The guards began to attach these wires to me, in specific places, in placed I wasn't exactly comfortable having touched. The more those HYDRAs tampered with me, the more I wanted to kick their asses, but it was kind of hard with my legs and arms tied down. "And what makes you think, after you've injected with your serum, that I will fight with HYDRA? How do you know I won't do everything in my power to take you down, Schmidt?" I said through gritted teeth. The guards were now placing test tubes of Super Soldier serum in small compartments on the machine then attached them to the wires in tubes on me.

"Because, soldier," Schmidt spoke, quietly, walking up to where I was and looking down at me, "If you even attempt to rebel against me, I'll kill your beloved Captain."

I forgot how to breathe for a moment; he was getting too personal now. "You can't. Steve's too strong for you; you'd fail." I said without a doubt in the world.

"Well, what you don't know, American, is that I've planned this more thoroughly than you think. You see, _girl_, when I came for your Italian base by surprise I left Captain Rogers a little present." He leaned down, getting closer to my face, "I left one of my own men, undercover, a tactic you seem to be very familiar with."

My mouth was going dry. Steve…

"You see," he persisted on, making me go nauseas, "my man is waiting for a signal from me, and the second you refuse to cooperate he will plant a bullet in that Captain of yours head so fast that he won't even have a chance to think."

I did the only thing my strapped hands and legs allowed me to do; I spit right on his face, "_Screw you._" I hissed through gritted teeth. He stepped back, wiping my spit of his face, looking cross.

"Continue with the procedure, Doctor." He said, turning his back on me.

Suddenly, the machine began to automatically put me in an upright position. The guards closed the door, and I was in nearly complete darkness. The only light came from the small window. "No…no…" I whispered with shaky breaths, I was sweating, my hands were shaking, I felt sick. I had to cooperate, for Steve, for my Captain.

Then something strange began to happen. I felt needles, piercing my skin, and a cold, slimy sensation spread through my body. That was probably the serum going into me. Then things escalated quickly. Suddenly my whole body was shaking violently, pain, searing hot pain spread over every inch of me. It felt as though my insides, my muscles, my nerves, were being torn apart, rearranged, and being put back together again. My arms, my legs, everything was in blinding, white pain. I couldn't help but shriek. Everything was becoming too much. I couldn't breathe, I could barely see. Then all the sudden, all the pain, all the strange sensations, they all just stopped.

The door opened up and steam poured out. I lay there, covered in sheets of sweat from head to toe, feeling slightly light headed, but other than that, I felt as healthy as a horse. I looked down at myself. I didn't look that different, but my arms were a bit thicker, more muscle, less limp. My stomach was toned perfectly, gleaming with sweat. Not to mention all the scars I had gotten from previous battles had simply vanished. Well, except for the bullet scar on my shoulder. I clenched my hands into a fist, feeling my muscles contract with unusual strength. What did these bastards do to me…?

"Doctor Zola?" Schmidt asked, walking towards me, "She doesn't look very super."

Zola followed after him, examining me as if I was like any other experiment in his lab. He poked around at my arms, squeezing them slightly. "Vell, sir, ze serum vas designed for men. It vas not created for her body structure, but it has affected her anyvays. You see, her muscles, her abs, even her thighs, sir, have all been upgraded into perfect condition. It seems as though most of ze change is internal. How do you feel?" He said, addressing me.

"I feel…" I said, reluctantly. I cracked my toes, clenching my fist, "I feel strong."

The guards unstrapped me, letting me drop to the floor. I quickly covered my chest, which was exposed for much too long, and stood, on my newly strengthened feet. "Damn…" I muttered, shaking my legs off a bit, I felt so tough.

Zola threw me a plain white t-shirt. I immediately shoved my arms through it, finally getting something over my chest.

"Welcome to HYDRA…um…I didn't quiet catch your name?" Schmidt asked smugly, sounding so proud of his accomplishment.

"Marty Barnes, you son of a bitch, and don't you forget it."


	22. Schmidt's Plan

**_*Hey guys, so I think it's about time we talked about something. I'm a crazy person, alright. I'm constantly plotting stories in my head. Like 24/7, and sometimes it's hard for me to get down and focus on one specific story. So if it takes me a while to update it's because I'm trying to find my muse again, trying to get back into shape, and that's what happened with this chapter. I re-wrote it a couple of times, but I think it turned it nicely. Just please, try and bare with my insanity and overactive imagination. Hope you like it! -Noor xx*_  
**

**Marty**

"Did you sleep well, soldier?" Schmidt's voice echoed down through the empty hall of cells.

I slowly opened my eyes, finding myself back in HYDRA's cell. "Is it morning already?" I asked, coldly.

"Indeed it is," He said, smiling eerily at me through the metal bars.

"Sorry," I said, standing up and stretching my newly built arms, "Couldn't tell, you know, being 6 feet underground and all."

He laughed, shaking his head, "I suggest you drop your attitude, girl," he said, leaning in closer to the bars, "I can still kill your Captain."

"Listen, Schmidt," I said, walking towards the bars. "You might be able to lock me down here, you might be able to threaten me, but you will never make me stop standing up for myself, and I plan on doing just that until I take my last breath. So, I suggest you stop trying to tell me what to do because you're wasting your time."

"Is that so?" He asked, his face harder than stone. He reached his hand through the bars and grabbed a hold of my neck. I gasped as he pulled me right up into the metal with unusual strength, "If you fail to cooperate, American, you will be to blame for Captain Rogers' death," he looked me dead in the eye, suffocating me. "Do you want to live with that? That heavy, sickening remorse of the time you talked back to me, because you will if you decided to 'stand up for yourself' again." He released me, making me fall to my knees, gasping for air.

"Why don't you just kill me, then?" I asked, coughing as I regained composure.

"Because, girl, I need you. Tonight HYDRA takes charge. I've prepared a plane, soldier, a plane containing some of the most powerful explosions you will ever see, and _we _are going to fly this little plane over a place called New York, I'm sure you are most familiar with it…"

I couldn't seem to breathe properly again, but no one was choking me this time. He was going to destroy my hometown. "No…" I breathed, my heart beating irregularly in fear.

"Yes, and then after that we will knock every other state down, one by one…" He articulated every syllable loud and clear, speaking slowly. I felt ounce every of strength I had in me drain away.

"You can't do this, Red Skull," I said, standing up on my wobbly legs. "You won't! I won't let you, The Allies are coming Schmidt, and they _will _stop you."

"Hold on to your foolish dreams, girl, but when you drop the first bomb on your own hometown , all the blood, all the casualties, all the feelings you will experience, oh, it'll be as real as you can imagine. "

**Steve**

Revenge; I was never really a fan of the word. It sounded pretty serious, like men were going to get hurt, probably even blood was going to be spilt in the name of "getting equal". Now though, after everything that's been happening, after Marty was captured back on the Italian base, it's was the only word I couldn't seem to get off my tongue. I still couldn't believe she was in their hands now. I could've stopped them, I could've saved her, but I wasn't fast enough.

I sat in the back of a fast moving van, in full uniform. My men sat beside me, each holding their weapons, waiting for the moment when we would finally be at HYDRA's last standing base. Now, I know these men, they're here to avenge the loss of our base, HYDRA burned that place to the ground. Bucky and I aren't riding in the dead of night to the enemy's headquarters because of that, though. We're here for Marty.

The van jerked and rumbled beneath us as I went over the plan again with the team. "…then Bucky and I will see if we can find Marty. No matter what ever happens stick to the plan, guys. If this battle's gonna be anything like the last one, then I can tell you now fellas it isn't gonna be pretty." I warned, looking into the silhouetted faces of the men as they nodded their heads. I know they were probably still in shock about Marty and everything. I just didn't want to know what Marty was going to do to Bucky once she found out he kinda gave away the biggest secret of her life. That'd be something to see, huh?

I looked to my right where Bucky stood, gripping his shot gun, his jaw clenched tight. He was just as worried as I was. I nudged my friend with my elbow, "Hey," I said, giving him a subtle smile. He glanced up at me, easing up a bit. "We're gonna get her back, Bucky."

He nodded his head slowly, "You're damn right we are. I'm not leaving that place 'till she's free. I'm sure you'll agree with that, 'ey Steve, you know, since you kinda dig her." He said, smirking, nudging me this time.

I was taken a back, "Wha…?" I said, blankly.

"Come on, Cap, spit it out." Bucky said, rolling his eyes, "You got the hots for my baby sister, better you then some jerk, am I right?"

"I…we aren't – I mean we don't…fondue." I said, slowly, my face heating up.

"Steve, I think it's about time you know that fondue is just cheese and bread."

"What?" I said, confusedly, "Bucky, Marty and I we're not…" I trailed off, rubbing the back of my neck, awkwardly.

"Yeah, I know, I know, but that don't mean you don't like her." Bucky said, shrugging.

I didn't know what to say. I didn't even know what to think. My head was just filled with little images, memories of Marty and I, sitting in a little old tent, just reminiscing about Brooklyn, me pulling a bullet out of her shoulder, walking in on her changing, planning trips to Coney Island, not wanting to kiss Peggy because…because I wished it was… "Bucky," I raised an eyebrow, "I think you might have a point there, buddy."

The truck stopped abruptly, flinging the men and me deeper into the back of the truck. We toppled on top of each other, banging our heads against one another. "Damn…" Bucky muttered, rubbing his forehead. "What the hell was that?"

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"That's out queue. Let's go, fellas!" I said, hopping out of the truck and into the dark night. In front of me was HYDRA's base, big white building stood, towering over us, watch towers shot up from the ground, shining blinding white lights onto the soon to be full battlefield. This is was the main base, this was HYDRA's headquarters. "Come on!" I called to the team, and off we went.

Bucky and I darted off into the battlefield. Before we knew it, swarms of HYDRA soldiers were pouring out of the building, all armed with their special weapons. I took my shield firmly in my grasp and gave Bucky a curt nod of me head, we had a soldier to rescue. Together were fought our way through the quickly heating battle. We worked fast, getting rid of anyone and anything that stood in our way. By now we were pretty familiar with how HYDRA worked. If I learned anything for all of this it's that HYDRA keeps their captives low. So, Marty is probably underground, probably in the biggest building there is.

"Which one is it, Steve?" Bucky asked with heavy breath, scanning the base for the right building.

I wiped sweat off my forehead, looking carefully through the severe battle before us for the biggest building. Then I spotted it, standing tall beside a long row of HYDRA tanks, looking especially secure and hard to get in. "That's it, right over there," I said, pointing to the building.

"You sure she's in there? We could split up, I could check another building?" Bucky asked, hastily, eager to find his sister.

"No," I answered immediately, "We have to stick together. Last time we spilt up Marty ended up with a bullet in her arm and you almost got blown to pieces." I reminded him.

"Right, well then what are we waiting for, Cap?"

We wrestled our way through the chaos, baring fresh new wounds by the time we made it to the other side of the base, but we had made it at least. We stood in front of the building now. Bucky was hunched over with his hands on his knees; he got a pretty nasty blow to the gut back there. "You okay?" I asked, putting an aching hand on his back.

He nodded his head, standing up straight, "What do you think?" he asked, standing up straight, wiping blood off his lip.

"I think you look like a million bucks," I joked, cracking a smile.

"Right back at cha, Cap," He said, racking his gun back.

"Come on," I said, leading him towards the front doors. It didn't look there was anyone guarding the building, everyone was probably out on the battlefield, getting their hands dirty, but we couldn't be too sure. We walked cautiously, holding on to our weapons with our life. We opened the doors. Immediately, I knew I was wrong.

Standing right in the door way were 5 HYDRA soldiers. It seemed as though they were getting ready to go out to the main battle, but now since they caught a glimpse of Bucky and I, they had different plans. We went to work. I took on two of the soldiers, hand on hand combat. I threw a fist back as far as it would go, and brought it crashing right into one of their faces. He nearly fell to the floor, but he still stood weakly on his feet, so I introduced him to my shield, and that was the end of that. The other one charged at me unexpectedly, a knife in his gloved hand. He recklessly aimed for my heart. I grabbed hold of his wrist, stopping the blade before it could pierce me. Then, I took my head and banged it right into his as hard as I could, making him join friend on the floor. I looked beside me to see that Bucky had put the other three to sleep with his gun.

"Nice goin', Bucky," I said, stepping over the men's bodies.

"Say, you gotta teach me that head-butt thing. Could come in handy," He said, stepping over the bodies as well, and reloading his gun.

"Well, I learned it from Marty, she might be a better teacher than me, but she'll never get to show you if we don't find her," I said, looking down the hall as the sirens began to blare overhead.

"Good point. Where do you think these bastards are keeping her?" Bucky asked.

"Low, they're keeping her underground somewhere." I said, beginning to walk down the seemingly empty hall, still cautious for any more visitors. "We'll see if we can find a staircase or an elevator of some sort."

We walked down the peaceful hall, hearing the muffled sounds of grenades go off, and guns being fired. There was so much going on in my head. There was a war raging outside the walls, my men were out there, I was practically aching all over, pretty sure I was bleeding in some places, but there was something else that was overpowering every other thought in my crammed head. I kept thinking about what Bucky had said in the truck. Just because Marty and I were never together, we never kissed, never anything, did that mean that there wasn't anything there at all? There were feelings, at least I had feelings for her, feelings I didn't get around just any other woman. I was starting to feel like a real idiot for dancing with Peggy that one night.

We advanced carefully down the hall, finding little relief in the fact that the rooms had been deserted. Then we came across two halls; one left, and one right. Bucky and I exchanged looks. "Steve we have to split up, the sooner we find Marty the better."

I quickly went over the scenarios in my head of what could go wrong, but finding Marty was a priority right now, and Bucky had a point, we didn't have all night. "Okay, but be careful, and be smart." I said, throwing him my extra handgun.

"Do I really need two guns, Steve?" Bucky asked.

"Sure, I got this," I said, patting my shield.

"Be careful, Cap." Bucky said, seriously.

"I'm always careful," I said, giving him a smile. "If you don't find anything in 30 minutes we meet back here. Got it?"

"Got it." Bucky said, holding a fully loaded gun in each hand.

Then we went our separate ways. Bucky took the left hall and I took the right. I rushed down the hall, looking for a way underground. I walked past lab after lab, door after door, ready for any HYDRA to come my way, until finally something caught my eye. There was a metal staircase, spiraling downward into darkness. That had to be it.

**Marty**

I shook the ridiculously sturdy metal bars of my cell furiously, "YOU BASTARDS!" I yelled out through the dark hall of empty cells. All I could hear were the sound of gun shots and explosions, rumbling in my skull. It had started about an hour or so ago. It was The Allies, it was America, and it was Steve. I needed to get out of here, go find Steve and tell him about Schmidt's plan to bomb the states. I shook the bars more violently, "Aren't I supposed to be a Super Soldier?! Bullshit!" I said, feeling my hands blister. I fell to my knees, the sounds of the battle echoing through my head. "Dammit…" I muttered, feeling hot tears form in my eyes, the palms of my hands stinging, dripping blood. I never have in my entire life felt so defenseless, so hopeless. I couldn't bomb New York, I couldn't bomb my people.

"Marty!"

My head shot up. "Could it be…? I stood up quickly, feeling my heart beat and leap and jump in my chest, "Steve?!" I called desperately from behind the bars.

"Marty, where are you?" I heard him call again. He was really here…

"I'm down here, Steve, last cell on your left!" I called back. I heard his footsteps come down the hall; every time his foot touched the floor my heart skipped a beat. Then his face came into view, his bloody, bruised, sweaty face.

"Marty!" he said, breathlessly. He took off his Captain America head piece and raced towards my cell. "Jeez, what did they do to you? Did they hurt you? Are you okay?" he began, quickly.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. They just gave me that serum shit…" I said absentmindedly, the Soldier Serum was the last thing on my mind. I was just so happy to see Steve.

"They gave you the serum?" he said, fearfully.

"Yeah, but I feel fine, Steve. It's really no big deal." I said, pressing my body up against the bars.

"Marty, are you hurt? Are you sure you're okay? That serum, it could be dangerous –."

"No, Steve, listen to me."

"Marty, do you feel okay? Does anything hurt?"

I reached my hands through the bars and took hold of his face, "Listen to me, Rogers!"

He swallowed hard and nodded his head, his face softening up.

"I shouldn't have yelled at you, Steve. If you wanna kiss Agent Carter then go right ahead. I mean, who do I think I am? You're a grown man, Steve, and if you wanna go dance with someone then I have no right to go and yell at you. I'm a complete, downright bitch. You deserve better than that. " But the funny thing is, just as I said that, I felt that overwhelming urge to kiss him again take over me.

"No, Marty," he smiled softly, "I don't want to kiss Peggy," he said, leaning into me closer.

"What?" I said, looking into his eyes, "But I thought you liked her…"

He shrugged, "Turns out she's not really my type after all."

I sighed, feeling relief at those words. Maybe I did like Steve more than I thought, maybe I even loved him. "Where's Bucky?' I asked, suddenly remembering my brother and that he could very well be hurt right now.

"He's somewhere in this building, looking for you. Come on, let's get you out of here," He said, starting to shake the bars.

"It's no use." I said, stepping away slightly. "Steve, listen, there's something else I have to tell you."

"What is it?" He said, meeting my eyes.

"It's Schmidt, he's going to take a plane over the US and he's going to bomb every state to the ground. His first target is Brooklyn. You have to go get on that plane, fast." I said, seriously.

"But Marty, I'm not leaving you here." He said, immediately, gripping the bars tightly.

"Don't worry about me. Schmidt's gonna come and take me to the plane soon, you just gotta beat us to it. Go and get a head start, I'll meet you there."

"Are you sure?" he said, uneasily.

"Positive, you have to trust me," I said, nodding my head.

"Right, be careful would you?" he said, letting go of the bars.

"I'm always careful," I said, smiling softly at him. Then he turned to jog down the hall, and I wondered if that was the last time I would ever see Steve Rogers, ever hear his voice, ever be saved by him again… "Wait, Steve?" I called out to him. He immediately turned around, as if he was waiting for me to say something.

"Yeah, Marty?"

"I can't wait 'till Coney Island." I said, smiling at him.

"Me neither." Then he gave one last goofy smile, saluted me, and ran off to save America.


	23. Bloody, Muddy, and Bruised

**_*Hey! So, sorry it took me this long to get this up here, but here it is. It's just that I've had so much homework and exams and stuff, and now I have finals and just ugh. I managed to get this up, though because I stayed home today (I'm sick) and got this done before my mom made me get up and study. So yeah, hope you like it! _**

**_Also, I've been plotting lately for the sequel to this and I'm just curious if there's anything in the sequel you'd like to see. If you have any suggestions, feel free to let me know :) -Noor xx*_  
**

**Steve**

I moved as quickly as my feet would take, running down the empty, dark hall of cells and back up the metal staircase, skipping three steps at a time. Marty was still down there, locked up. Believe me, I didn't want anything more but to kick down those bars and get Marty out, but I needed to stop Schmidt, that bastard who turned her into a Super Soldier. I didn't have the slightest clue what stuff HYDRA has in their serum, but I'm praying to God that I won't have to learn the hard way. I reached the main level of the building, already coming up with a strategy in my head. I needed to get to that plane before Schmidt. Chances are he was probably already on his way over here to go and get Marty. Right, so all I had to do was find Bucky, tell him what happened, and then get through the chaos outside and to the runways, find the right plane, and sneak on it before it takes off without me and America gets air raided to ruins. That's just swell.

I took in a deep breath, clenched the star spangled shied tighter in my grasp, and started down the left hall. I told him 30 minutes, that after 30 minutes if he didn't find anything then he should meet up back at the two halls, but I didn't have half an hour. If I'm lucky, I might have about 15 minutes; max. "Bucky…" I said anxiously under my breath as I rushed down the hall, looking in every room that I happened to pass by. "Bucky," I said a bit louder, I was starting to worry now. There were no clocks around, but I swear I could hear a ticking noise in my head, counting down the minutes, counting the amount of lives that could be lost in the states if I didn't get a move on.

Leave it to Bucky to get lost in a hallway…

"Bucky," I called one last time. I waited for an answer but only the sounds of the alarms overhead could be heard.

_Tick, tock, tick, tock…_

I was running low on time. I needed to get moving, I needed to get on that plane. I stood there for a short moment, thinking. Bucky could handle himself, Bucky was a soldier way before I was. He was trained and smart, right? Without giving myself time to change my mind, I turned around and quickly began making my way back down the left hall, hoping Bucky would stay out of trouble. I had a plane to catch.

**Marty**

I paced my cell, my mind racing as the war raged outside my cell. I kept clenching and unclenching my fists in anger, in anxiety. I just kept thinking about missiles being dropped right over my hometown, killing innocent citizens, burning my house down, killing Joey Brooks, ruining Coney Island…and every time I thought about it, my heart took a deep plunge in my chest and made it hard for me to breath for a second. I just hoped that Steve was already half way to that plane by now. What about Bucky, though? Where the hell was he? Steve told me he was somewhere in the building looking for me, but I was already found. Oh boy…

I went over to the metal bars of the cell and held on to them, holding them tightly, shaking them with my new Super Soldier strength, but they still wouldn't budge, not even a little. "God DAMMIT!" I said, releasing the bars. I spun around, my temper reaching its boiling point. I just couldn't take it anymore. I wasn't sure how loud I yelled or how hard I punched the stone wall, but my knuckles were bleeding and my throat was on fire.

"Angry, are we?"

I didn't turn around, I didn't move. I just stood there, my knuckles stinging, giving Johann Schmidt my back. "You have no idea." I said through gritted teeth.

"Remarkably sturdy, aren't they?" I heard him say. I slowly turned around to face him, he was grinning in utter content, two guards at his side. Just the sight of a smile on his ruby red face was enough to make me sick. "The bars, I mean."

"I've seen stronger," I lied.

He laughed, throwing his head back as if I had just said the funniest joke, "The blood on your hand would say otherwise, girl." And with that he pulled a small key from his pocket and unlocked the cell, swinging open the door. "Get her."

The guards quickly moved inside of the cell, each seizing me by an arm with tight grips. I didn't resist, I needed to go with them; this was part of the plan. This was my ticket to the plane and to Steve. I let them drag me out of cell. I tried my hardest to keep the expression on my face blank and emotionless, though my temper was sizzling and anxiety was beginning to overpower my thoughts. Please say Steve was on the plane, please say Bucky was okay and not being a complete dunce and putting himself in dangerous situations to find me…

We moved down the dark hall of vacant cells and towards the spiral staircase. The guards gripped my arms tightly as we escalated up the staircase. They seemed afraid that I was going to run away and make a break for it, but I wasn't going anywhere, not yet at least. We reached the main level of the building. I had to squint my eyes at the light; it was pretty bright for someone who was locked in a dark cell for a day or two. They began to lead me down the hall, the alarms were blaring over our heads, but I could still here the sounds of grenades and gunshots being used outside. It was really bad out there, wasn't it?

"You very pretty, girl. You make good kiss for me." I heard one of the guards whisper into my ear as we reached the end of the hall. My eyes shot towards him, and I swear to god if I wasn't being held down right now, I would've backhanded him right across the face, but I couldn't fight them, I needed to get to Steve.

"Go to hell," I spat, clenching my fists. He just chuckled quietly and followed his leader down the hall, just like a pet.

We turned the corner of the left hall. Since we didn't bump into Steve yet, I'm hoping he's already on the plane, which was reassuring. There was the issue of my brother and his reoccurring impulse to do stupid things to save me, though. I hoped he wasn't doing anything along those lines, but I guess hope wasn't enough for me at that moment because as we advanced down the hallway, I heard the unmistakable bang of a gunshot, and the guard that had earlier whispered into my ear released my arm, and hit the floor like a lump of meat. The other guard, Schmidt, and I all turned around.

Holy…

"Get your filthy paws off my sister, you bastard!"

There was another gunshot, and the other guard joined his friend on the floor. "Bucky!" I said, in complete awe. He stood there across the hall, bloody, muddy, and bruised with a shotgun in each hand, looking like a true hero, but a complete idiot all at the same time. "You gotta get outta here!' I warned him.

"So this is your brother, girl?" Schmidt said, angrily. Suddenly, he came up from behind me and threw his arm over my shoulders, pulling my down slightly with his special strength and placing a knife right at my neck. "I must say you too look quite alike."

"Let her go, Schmidt, or I'll take you out too," Bucky warned, raising his two shotguns.

Schmidt pressed the blade tighter against the fragile skin of my neck. He made a small, stinging cut, making me wince in pain. "It's admirable, really; family love…" He said. I locked eyes with my brother, begging him to get lost, to get safe. He didn't even budge, though. He stood firm, keeping his guns aimed right at Schmidt's skull. "But you Americans are so foolish. You aren't heroes, you are weak, and you are pathetic. I have the most powerful energy source ever seen to the universe at my fingertips and you still think you can take me on with a couple of _shotguns_. It's laughable."

Bucky shrugged, "I think it's worth a shot." Then he lowered one of his guns slightly and pulled the trigger. A second later, Schmidt's hand was dripping with blood and I was racing towards my brother. "Come on!' Bucky said, grabbing a hold of my hand and leading me back down the hall and away from Schmidt.

"How the hell did you –?" I asked, following him to where ever we were going.

"I got good aim, I guess," He said, looking back at me with a smirk. We ran all the way down the hall, hand in hand, until we reached another turn.

"Bucky wait," I said, abruptly, stopping in my tracks, making Bucky stumble slightly.

"What, what is it?" He asked breathlessly, turning around to face me. I stared at him for a few seconds, and I don't know what came over me, but just the sight of him so beat up and out of breath, and the fact that we were here together and alive just made me feel so relived. So, I just wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him as tightly as I could.

"You are an idiot, Bucky, a pure, idiot," I said, as he hugged me back, rubbing my back.

He chuckled, "Love you too, Marty."

"Wait, there's something else," I said, pulling away, "Schmidt injected me with the Super Soldier serum –."

"Whoa, what?!"

"Yeah, and Steve's on a plane that's about to take off to New York and bomb it —."

"Marty, slow down."

"And I need to get on it and make sure it doesn't happen, and make sure Steve's okay. Bucky, you need to trust me, you need to let me go do this, that's why I was following Schmidt and those guards, they're taking me on that plane, they want me to be the one to ruin the US, but I'm not gonna let it happen."

"Then I'm coming with you," He said, his eyes wide.

"No, you can't, I already got Steve in this mess, and you're not getting into it too." I said, immediately, shaking my head.

"Marty, I'm your older brother, I don't give a damn about what happens to me, a'ight? I'm going with you!" he said, sternly. I opened my mouth to speak, but something unsettling reached my ears. The sound of thick, rubber boots stomping on the ground. We were being followed.

"You hear that?" I asked, looking at my brother in fear. He listened for a moment, then his eyes widened.

"They're after us. Come on, let's get to that plane!" He said, and we both began to hurry down the hall.

"We need to find an exit," I said, breathing heavily.

"An exit, an exit…" Bucky said, thoughtfully, as the sounds of HYDRA's footsteps got louder. "C'mon." He said, leading me down an unknown hall. I swear these bastard's bases were like a maze.

We ran down the unfamiliar hall blindly, not having a damn clue where were going. Then just when we thought we were far enough from the guards, we turned a corner and found three of them, waiting for us with large guns. We stopped abruptly and were about to make our way back down the hall and away from them, but it was too late. Bucky threw me one of his guns and then shot one of the guards in the chest, making him fall backwards. Then, I turned to take the other one out. He shot at me, but I dodged the bullet quickly. I tried to shoot him back, but he charged at me and knocked the gun right out of my hand. We fought hand on hand for a few moments. He managed to get a couple of punches on me. He tried to kick me in the chest, but I ducked and picked up my gun instead, then I raised it and shot him, putting him to bed.

I turned around to see that all three guards were laying on the floor, dead, and then I noticed that there were four people on the floor, and one of those people were indeed my brother. He lie there on his back, blood dripping from his mouth, his face shocked and his bright blue eyes wide. "Bucky…" I said, breathlessly, rushing to his side, my heart speeding up dangerously.

"That bastard's fast." Bucky said, frailly.

"What?" I said, confusedly. It was only then that I realized the blood gushing from my brother's stomach. He had his hand pressed tightly against the wound. "No…" I said, moving his hand off to see the injury, but I wish I hadn't. Because right there before my eyes was a bullet hole, shot right through Bucky's clothes and into his skin. I placed my hand on it, feeling my breath grow heavy. I didn't know what was happening. "You're fine, you're okay." I said, looking back up into my brother's weak face. "You're okay…" I choked, tears streaming from my eyes.

Bucky just looked shock, like he couldn't believe he got shot, like he couldn't believe any of this. "It's okay, Marty."

"No, no, no, _no!_" I said, sobs escaping my throat, "This is _all_ my fault," I said, placing my now bloody hand on my brother's face, which was quickly losing color.

"No, it's not your fault," He said, coughing, "I'm an idiot, right? I'm a pure idiot." He said, with a smile, though tears escaped his eyes. "Marty, just tell me something real quick."

I could barely speak, I just kept sobbing, "W-what?"

"Do you have a thing for Steve?" He coughed.

I gasped for air, and nodded my head, "Yeah, you know I think I might." I said, with a sob.

He smiled a frail, soft smile, the shock gone from his face, and whispered, "I knew it." Then his eyes closed slowly, and his chest stopped moving up and down, and the smile was gone from his bloody, muddy, and bruised face.

Bucky was dead.


	24. Falsworth

**_*It kind of seems like every chapter I'm apologizing for how late my updates are, but here's a not so funny story. Finals. Yes, finals. The most terrible, evil things that have ever been invented and I had to deal with them for the last two weeks. My mom is insane, she literally had me study so freggin' much. Plus, my cousins came over from another country and I had to spend time with them. Also, my laptop kind of broke down when I was half way through writing this chapter so I had to go and save all my chapters on the COMPUTER and RE-WRITE this one. So basically, in the time we've been apart, my hatred for school and humanity as a whole has blossomed beautifully. Woo. Don't fret, though. My exams end on Monday and then I'm free for a whole god freaking month. _**

**_You should probably know this is the second to the last chapter of the first installment (fanshy word) of Lady America. I'm in the middle of the plotting process for the sequel which is fun. You guys are probably looking at your screens plotting my merciless death right now, but if I'm wrong (probably not) I hope you enjoy this chapter. Love you!* -Noor xx_**

**_P.S: there's a lot of capital letters in this chapter, but I guess everyone just has a lot of feelings, OKAY?_**

**Marty**

When I got the condolence letter from General Philips that afternoon in Brooklyn, I was never really sure about how Bucky might have died. I thought maybe he had been shot, or maybe died in an explosion, the way many soldiers die. There was one thing I was sure of now, though. That seeing my brother, lying there on the cold floor, unmoving, with blood still pouring out of his wound, was much worse than anything I had ever imagined. I sat there on my knees, breathless as I hunched over my brother's body. "You bastard…you son of a bitch," I choked out with a loud sob, placing a bloody, trembling hand on his nearly colorless face.

For what seemed like an eternity, I just sat there, staring into Bucky's face with tears falling down my face. I couldn't quite pin-point exactly what it was my emotions were doing. All I knew was that the hall was spinning, I felt nauseas, and I just couldn't stop crying, but there was one feeling that overpowered all the rest. It was strange. It didn't really feel like anything. It was just sort of there, making my limb's heavy, making my thoughts move in slow motion…

"There! She's down there!"

His voice came out of nowhere. Just the simple tone of his voice triggered this deep, fiery hatred for him, for anyone who followed him, and for anyone who had ever said 'Hail Hydra' and meant it from the bottom of their hearts. It was Schmidt. I forced my eyes away from Bucky and stared down the hall. There he stood beside about five guards, infuriated, looking extra angry with his ruby red skin. It was only then that I remembered there was a whole war outside these spinning walls and that Steve was probably waiting for me at Schmidt's plane.

"Get her!" Schmidt said, pointing down the hall. The guards didn't waste anytime, as usual, and quickly came charging towards me.

Then everything happened in slow motion. I reached for the two shotguns that lay abandoned by Bucky's body. It was as if I was moving my hand through water, but I finally grabbed hold of them. I clenched them as tight as I could in my weakened hands and slowly stood up from the floor. Then, letting my grief and hatred take control, I raised both guns and pulled the triggers. The sound of the gunshots didn't stop until nearly all my bullets were finished. Four of them now lay dead on their backs, but there was still one more guard, and he didn't even look back at his allies.

The slow motion stopped.

The fifth and final soldier was now running at me full speed. He caught me off guard. Before I had time to process what the hell had happened, his two strong, bulky hands were grasping my shoulders tightly and pinning me to the floor beside Bucky's body. I squirmed and thrashed beneath his weight, trying everything I had in my quickly draining power to pry him off of me, but it was no use. So much for a Super Soldier…

As I tried to wriggle my way from under the guard, I could hear Schmidt walking towards us, the sound of his clunky boots hitting the floor echoed in my head. He reached us, and I peered up from under the guard to see him. He stared down at Bucky, and evil grimace plastered on his face. "It was a valiant attempt, I must say." Schmidt spoke in utter content. He had caught me, and even better, he had managed to kill someone very close to me, and that was just the cherry on top. "Very valiant, indeed…." Then he took his fifthly boot and placed it on my brother's cheek, moving his face to the right, so that he faced me. I felt my heart stop for a moment. I could feel a fire starting in my veins.

"GET YOUR FOOT _OFF _OF HIM!" I yelled at the top of lungs, straining my neck.

He smiled at me coldly, "Well, of course!" he replied, removing his foot for a split-second before kicking it powerfully against my brother's right cheek. Bucky's face fell limply to the left.

That was where the line was drawn. It was as if Schmidt had just set aflame a wildfire, and all it took was a tiny, little spark. Suddenly, my wary, weakened body was pulsing with strength. I seized the guard by his shirt and shoved him off of me with shocking strength. The guard was miraculously flung back into the wall, as if he was weightless. I immediately shot up on my feet, feeling like a million bucks. Scratch what I said before. The serum had definitely worked, but this meant that Schmidt was going to stop at nothing to get me under his control. I was the second ever successful Super Soldier after Steve, and if there was one thing I knew about good ol' Johann Schmidt, it's that he would never let that kind of power go.

I directed my attention to the red man before me. He looked taken aback, yet pleasantly surprised, "Now that's the spirit, girl!"

"Glad you like it Schmidt, 'cause you're the next lucky sucker to get a taste of it!" I balled my hand up into a tight fist, and with white knuckles, crashed it into Schmidt's jaw. I had only enough time to see him merely stumble back before his gloved fingers were wrapped firmly around my neck with extraordinary strength.

"Foolish girl!" He said with a gleeful cackle, looking me dead in the eye, "I was the first ever successful Super Soldier, it was _me_!" He hissed as I choked for air, "Not that sorry excuse you call a Captain! I'm stronger than you and Steve Rogers _combined_." He loosened his fingers just enough for me to catch my breath, but not enough for me to escape. "Now make your choice, American. You can either take my orders or I can snap your neck right here, right now. It's simpler than you might think…" He tightened his grip.

I did always seem to forget about Schmidt and his strength. You think after all the face to face trouble we've got into before I would've learned my lesson. I had no other choice but to listen to him, for now at least. Steve was waiting, and as I glanced back over to Bucky's lifeless body on the floor, I realized that I didn't have any reason to stay at the base anymore…

"Fine." I said through gritted teeth, painfully looking away from my brother.

"Good." And with that Schmidt pulled a small revolver form out of his coat pocket. He released my neck and instead grabbed hold of my arm, pointing the gun at my head. I managed to steal one final glance at Bucky before Schmidt forcefully led me away from his body and down the hall. I wondered if they would just leave Bucky lying there after all of this was over and let his body rot in this building, go unnoticed. The mere thought sickened me, but I had no choice but to follow after Schmidt.

He dragged me hastily towards the front doors of the building as I tried to keep up with his pace. We walked quickly, not stopping for anything or anyone. We approached the metal doors and Schmidt, with one hand still pressing the gunpoint firmly against my temple, released my arm for a short moment to push open the door. We rushed out into the battle. My eyes went wide. The sounds I was hearing from my cell were nerve racking, but they were nothing compared to the actual sight itself. Grenades were going off at every corner, men, both from HYDRA and from the Allies, dropped to the floor, taking their lasts breaths. Gun shot, explosions, yelling, blood; it was simply chaotic. I was starting to wonder if Steve had even made it through all this, if he even made it out alive…

"Come on!" Schmidt hissed urgently at my ear, tugging at my arm. I absentmindedly followed him, letting him drag me to wherever we were going. I scanned the battlefield quickly, looking for Steve, looking for the team. Then, miraculously through all the mayhem, I caught sight of Falsworth; one of the best men on the team, and a good friend. He stood beside a large tank with a lethal looking gun in his hand. He looked tattered and beat up with his bloody nose and a deep gash at this cheekbone. I thought there would be no way he would be able to hear me over all the noise, but then I remembered Bucky, and the terrifying thought of his body being left behind. So, I took my chances.

"FALSWORTH!" I yelled out, straining my voice as loud as I could, hoping he would hear me over the war. Schmidt shot me a shocked and infuriated expression, digging the tip of the gun deep into my skin. He tried to force me away, but I dug my boots into the dirt, resisting, "_FALSWORTH!"_

Flasworth's head snapped in our direction. He looked confused at first, looking around to see who had called his name. I called for him again, "FALSWORTH!" He met my gaze and his small, brown eyes went wide. Instantaneously, he sped towards us.

"Barnes!" He called, sprinting. Wait a god damn second. Did he just call me _Barnes…_?

"Flasworth!" I said as he came within a couple of yards of us. "Listen, it's Bucky! He's dead!" I tried to say before Schmidt had the chance to pull me away.

"I've had enough of this for one night!" Schmidt yelled, removing the gun from my temple and instead pointed at the running Flasworth. The soldier stopped abruptly in his tracks, immediately raising his weapon at Schmidt. "Say on more word and I swear I'll shoot!" Schmidt warned, but I stupidly ignored him and opened my mouth to speak.

"You need to get his body form that building over there!" I said, nodding my head in the direction of the building Schmidt had just dragged me out of. Schmidt squeezed my arm so tight I could literally feel the circulation stopping. Falsworth looked wounded and overwhelmed, but he kept a strong hold on his weapon, keeping it aimed at Schmidt's chest. "You can't leave him in there -NO!"

Schmidt had pulled the trigger on his gun. Suddenly, Falsworth was clutching a bleeding shoulder and stumbling backwards into the dirt. Without even giving me a chance to process any of the chaos, Schmidt tugged me forcefully by the arm and began to drag me across the battlefield towards the runways. "You _bastard!_" I hissed at Schmidt furiously.

"I gave you fair warning, _Barnes_." Schmidt said in defense.

I glanced over my shoulder, praying that my team mate would be alright. I turned around to find Flasworth kneeling on the floor, his left hand clutching his shoulder, and his right giving me a subtle salute along with a reassuring nod of his head; he was alive. I directed my attention back to the red man who was just about ready to snap my arm.

He led me away from the explosions and gun shots to a place that was a lot quieter and lot less populated; the runways. There it stood before me. A gigantic, metal, lethal machine with razor sharp turbines a hundred times bigger than my head. My jaw hit the asphalt; this was the plane. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. I bet Mr. Stark would give an arm and leg to get a look at this thing…

Schmidt broke my moment of amazement when he pulled me towards a short amount of stairs that led into the plane, and said with a grimace, "Ladies first."


	25. A Marty-Beautiful Sky

**_*So, alas, this is the end my friends. The final chapter, the last time Steve and Marty will ever see the 40's, their friends, their families. It's over. All I wanna say right now is how truly enjoyable and fun writing this story was and I just hope you had just as much fun reading it. I dunno, I know this is kinda stupid, I know there is gonna be like two more sequels but there is gonna be a special place in my heart for Steve and Marty in the 40's. It's like I'm leaving this whole world behind, but that's the point, right? Thank you guys so much for ALL your reviews. They made me smile and laugh and I just absolutely jump with joy when I read that my story made you feel something, 'cause that's pretty freakin' awesome. So thank you for giving me something to write for. Also, I think I learned a lot writing this story. I think I grew as a writer a lot, and I think I've obtained a lot of skills that I hope to use while writing the sequel. I've been plotting like mad for that by the way, haha. _**

**_I guess I should let you guys know that the first chapter of the sequel won't be posted until I've finished plotting it completely. Which shouldn't take too long, but I want it to be really good for you guys. So if it takes me a while to get the first chapter up, just bare with me. I'm trying to come up with a good, manageable updating schedule, also. So, don't forget about me in the time we're apart. I certainly won't forget about you. But if you guys wanna go ahead and follow my twitter ( noor_dearie) I'll probably give little updates up there about where I'm at with the sequel. _**

**_I love you and thank you for dealing with my crappy updating skills and for sticking with my story. 'Till next time...:)* -Noor xx_**

**Marty**

Schmidt shoved me forcefully into the plane, making me trip on the last stair and stumble clumsily into the plane. Once we were both in, the stairs folded up automatically and the door shut loudly. I don't know much about planes, but it seemed as though we were in what people call the cargo. The lowest level, you know the place where they keep storage and such.

"Quite fascinating, I know. To such a simple mind like yours, this degree of technological advancement is probably hard to take in," Schmidt began, just the sound of his voice was enough for me to clench my fist.

"Yeah, pretty neat," I said in a disinterested, half sarcastically half truthfully. It was pretty dark where we were, but there was just enough light emitting from a level above us for me to see where Schmidt was dragging me. We were walking on a metal pathway, there were railings, and a staircase that led up to other levels, god knows how many that was exactly.

He stopped me abruptly in the middle of the pathway and finally released my arm, letting it breath again, but just when I thought he was going to set me free he reached into one of the pockets on his long, leather coat and pulled out handcuffs. "Now, girl," Schmidt said, with a smirk on his face, taking my wrist in his hand, "Your services are not needed at this time, so you can just stay here." He then took one of the handcuffs and locked it as tight as it would go around my wrist. Then, he took the second handcuff and secured it on to the railing.

"What the hell are you doing?" I said, confused, looking down at my trapped wrist as Schmidt headed for the staircase. "I thought you needed me." I called out at him.

"I do, but the plane hasn't even taken off yet. Wouldn't want you to make a break for it now would I?" He reached the top of the staircase and to his right was a button. He took his finger and pushed it. Suddenly, a whole row of bright, white lights switched on; my heart dropped. "Enjoy your flight, soldier!" Then Schmidt was gone, and I was left alone with the most terrifying sight of the war before my eyes.

The 'cargo' was a lot larger than I thought. In fact, it was so large that it could fit missiles. I know this because in front of me was a whole row of missiles, lined up beside each other, each the size of a small plane and each baring a name in big white letters. I read off the names; Virginia, New Jersey, Maine, Rhode Island, _New York_. I gasped as the realization dawned on me. Those were all names of states. Schmidt had bombs ready to blow for the whole East Coast!

"Shit!' I muttered under my breath, violently shaking my hand to try to get myself free. I was supposed to be a Super Soldier now. I flung a two-hundred pound man into a wall not too long ago and now I couldn't even get free of a couple of handcuffs?! This was bullshit! There was no way I was going to let this happen. I turned to the handcuffs, determinately, and tightly took hold of the chain in my free hand. Then, with all the strength I could muster, I pulled. "Come on…" I said, clenching down hard on my teeth. I placed my foot on the railing to get a better hold and continued to tug as hard as I could. I felt the slightly familiar force of my serum strength coming into play. "Come _on_…!" Then suddenly I heard the unmistakable sound of the chain break off and I stumbled backwards into the opposite railing. "Yes…" I breathed, looking over at the abandoned handcuff that lay swinging on the railing, then down at my freed wrist. The handcuff was still locked tightly around my wrist, digging into my bones, but at least I could move around now.

Okay, now I had to find Steve, if he was even here at all… I started down the path again, making my way over to the staircase, but then I caught a glimpse of something from the corner of my eye; the colors red, white, and blue. I shot my gaze in the direction of the colors and miraculously enough, there it was; my bandana. It lay beside the 'New York' missile, hidden carefully enough so any other person wouldn't be able to see it, but not me. I turned from the staircase and rushed over to the bandana, taking the familiar fabric in my hand. It was tattered and torn, and still bared my blood stains from the last battle. I lost this thing back in Italy when HYDRA first invaded the base. I was captured by Zola when it fell off my arm. Steve must've found it afterwards. Wait a second, did that mean Steve was on the plane. There was no other explanation. He probably left it here to let me know he had made it. Plus, it was beside the 'New York', missile, I mean what are the odds?

With that information giving me little relief, I took the bandana and tied it around my arm, just where it should be. Then I turned around and began to head back to the staircase. I had my foot on the final step when suddenly the plane began to rumble loudly and violently beneath my feet. I froze in place, stunned by what was happening. The plane was probably getting ready to take off. I didn't have much time. Without wasting another second I climbed the final step and hurried off into the upper level of the plane.

Above the cargo was yet another pathway, but this time there was no missiles. Instead there were a couple of doors, both with signs above them, reading something in German. Gosh, I enlisted for this army knowing I was going to fight Nazis, I really should've learned to speak German. Steve had to be in one of these doors, but if I took the wrong one I could easily bump into Schmidt, and that wouldn't be too pretty. I felt like I was in a game show for a second. Two doors before me, each concealing something. One had a million bucks behind it and the other had a fruit cake or something. The plane's continuous rumbling kept reminding me that I needed to get a move on. So, I made a small prayer under my breath that I'd find Steve, and opened the door to my left.

Immediately I knew I had picked the fruit cake.

Zola stood in the center of the room, two guards by his side. "Seize her!" he said instantaneously. The two guards came towards me, but I wasn't going to let them get me. I was done listening to Schmidt. I felt my serum strength rush back to me, much more easily than the first two times, and attacked the first guard. Punching him square in the face, then kicking him in the chest, knocking him out of breath and knocking on to the floor. The second one looked taken aback by my strength. He hesitated to approach me for a split-second, but that was all the time I needed to sink my fist into his stomach and snap his neck. The guards were down.

"You're next," I said to Zola, feeling confident.

"Schmidt v-varned me you vould try to escape…" Zola said, fear obvious in his shaky tone. He backed up into the wall as I stepped closer towards him.

"Well, he knows me pretty good I guess, considering the amount of times I've gotten away from him." I said, so much more than ready to beat this pint-size to the ground.

"Luckily, I vas prepared also." Zola said, then out of nowhere he pulled out a syringe. A long needle, the point gleaming in the artificial lightning. My eyes widened.

"What is that?" I asked, stepping back slightly.

"It was made to put to you to bed until Schmidt needed you…" Zola said, now being the one to step closer to me.

I took a good look into his face. He looked angry, he looked terrified. The little hair on his head was messy and frizzy as if he had pulled it apart earlier, and his round glasses were lopsided on his small face. Something was telling me that this guy wasn't very HYDRA. He was just a scientist, who got a hell of a lot more than he bargained for. "You don't have to do this, Zola," I said, calmly.

He chuckled maniacally under his breath, raising the syringe to my level. "Don't I zo…?"

"No," I said, clearly and firmly.

"But I do, you see, _American_. Because if I don't Schmidt will have my head!" He said, his voice rising, "He'll kill me! If I let you escape he'll…he'll _dispose_ of me!"

I could feel the plane begin to move fast along the runway, the speed rapidly increasing, much like my heart rate. It was just about ready to take off. "Zola, you don't have to answer to him!" I retorted.

"I do you _stupid _girl! I signed up for zis! Zis is all my fault! I vas za one who managed to stabilize ze Tesseract's energy, convert it into a weapon of mass destruction. I vas za one who began to re-make ze Super Soldier serum. It vas _me_! He said, inching towards me just as I felt the plane tip off the floor.

"Well then if you had the power to start the whole thing then you have the power to stop it!" I said, trying my hardest to convince him.

"Zat power has been stripped avay from me unfortunately…it is Schmidt's now! _I _am Schmidt's now!" He was close enough to get me, and I was running out of space to escape, my back was to the wall, "and now you're Schmidt's too!"

He struck.

"ZOLA NO!" I tried to knock the syringe from his grasp, but Zola was in a state of insanity and was almost unreachable in anyway, physically and mentally. Suddenly the needle had found its way past the fragile skin of my neck and Zola was slowly pushing down on the top of the syringe, injecting me with the sleeping drug. I fell to my knees, feeling the room spin, feeling my heart rate slow to a dangerous rate. He pulled the needle out of my skin and right before my head hit the floor and everything went black, I saw Zola, with blurry vision, take a small walkie-talkie out of his coat pocket and with a fulfilled look he said…

"Schmidt…she's out."

It was all a trap…

**Steve**

"I must say Captain, I'm surprised you managed to sneak on my plane." Schmidt said, staring me down with his hands behind his back.

I clenched the shield tighter in my grasp, ignoring the taste of blood in my mouth and said, "To be honest, so did I, but with you busy trying to get your captive out her cell and all, I had enough time to slip past you…again." I said, standing my ground in the control room. It was the main area where the plane was controlled. It was driven here, there were buttons for anything imaginable on the control board at the steering wheel, and it was the place where the missiles that I saw down at the cargo were fired. Schmidt stood beside the control board, and lying next to him was a familiar metal contraption, illuminating the immediate area with a bright blue light. In that contraption was Schmidt's secret weapon; The Tesseract.

"Right, about my _captive, _turns out she wasn't such a successful experiment after all." He said, grinning from ear to ear.

I stepped closer to him, not liking where this was going at all, "What do you mean?" I said, sternly, the worst case scenarios racing through my head all at once. "What did you do to her?"

"It's unfortunate, I was certain the serum had worked but it backfired. The girl is dead, Captain, but that is science I'm afraid…" Schmidt said, with a simple, little shrug. I felt my blood burn from underneath my skin. He was messing with me, to throw me off, distract me. There was no way Marty was dead. He kept her alive, he should've brought her on the plane, I left her the bandana as a clue…

"You're lying," I said, confidently.

"I may be your enemy, Captain, but I can assure you I am a man of my word. Your girlfriend is dead. It's fact."

"No!" I said, not daring to believe it. I flung my shield across the room and at Schmidt's head. Any other guy would've been knocked out clean by that shot, but Schmidt wasn't any other guy. He had extraordinary strength, reflexes more quick and on point than most, and knew how to use it. Schmidt merely stumbled back. My shield boomeranged back into my hand. I was getting really 'pissed' now, as Marty would put it. She wasn't dead, she wasn't dead…

"The truth can hurt sometimes, Captain. But there are worse pains than truth. There's the kind that really _stings_!" and with that Schmidt charged towards me, getting a fist right into my jaw. The fight was on.

Fists were going back and forth, blood. My shield, was proving to be quite useless at this time. The fight was so close on contact that I didn't really get a chance to block his attacks the way I could have. I just kept telling myself over and over again in my head that Marty wasn't dead, that she wasn't gone. She is too strong for that, too tough. She's tougher that any girls I've ever met…which isn't a lot, but still. That girl who had the guts to enlist in the army, take another man's name and put her life on the line to serve her country, to prove herself. That girl wasn't dead. That girl had a date to Coney Island, and she wouldn't miss it.

Finally, after Schmidt couldn't take another blow to the gut he backed away and made a break for it. He rushed over to the Tesseract and with his bare hands pulled it out the contraption. "Schmidt!" I said, taking my shield back in my hand.

"THIS IS THE END FOR YOU, CAPTAIN!" Schmidt yelled crazily, but he was wrong. It was the end for _him_. Suddenly, the Tessseract began to emit a great amount of light and energy. Schmidt began to screech. There was smoke rising from where his hand made contact with the cube. Then, all happening way too quickly, Schmidt literally began to disintegrate before my eyes. He vanished away little by little, his body turning into some bright sort of particles that vanished into the air. I watched in awe as my enemy vanished before me. Then there was nothing left of Johann Schmidt and the Tesseract simply dropped, burned through the floor of the plane, and fell to the Earth and out of sight.

All of the sudden, there was utter silence. Nothing, but the sound of the wind blowing through the hole the Tesseract had made could be heard. I just stood there in shock. Was it really over, just like that…? Then I remembered the missiles and that they were set to fall over all of the East Coast in a matter of hours. I rushed over to the driving seat of the plane and looked out of the large window. The sun was rising in the clouds, giving a soft pink tint. It was kind of beautiful, not the kind of beautiful that you see at club, asking you to dance in a bright red dress, but the Marty kind of beautiful. I sat there in the seat, taking in the grief. Marty was dead…her secret was out…Bucky was going to live without a sister for the rest of his life, and now he would have to live without his best friend too. Because I realized, as I looked down at the control board that the plane wasn't too far from the coast, and that I had no idea how to stop the missiles from dropping.

Then suddenly I heard the static sound of a radio call, and Peggy's voice came out of nowhere. "Captain Rogers do you copy? Captain Rogers?" I looked around confusedly at the control boards and spotted a red button and a speaker. I clicked the red button and spoke.

"I copy?" I said.

"Steve is everything alright, what happened?" She asked hastily, her voice worried.

"Schmidt's dead, and the Tesseract is gone. Peggy, there are missiles on this plane and each of them is headed for a state on the east coast."

"What?!" She asked, shocked. "Wait, Steve I'm going to get Stark on the line, he can find you a good landing spot, he can get you safe."

"Peggy…there's no way I'm gonna make it in time. I have to put the plane down now." I said, making up my mind. The plane was over water now, if I put it down in the water now I could save a lot of people, I could end this war, and that's the whole reason I came here in the first place, right?

"Steve…no, no there are other ways," her voice was cracking. She was crying.

"Peggy, listen to me," I said, feeling tears form in my eyes as I took hold on the steering gear, pointing it downwards. I heard sobbing over the radio. "Peggy?"

"Y-yes?" She said, softly.

"Marty's dead," I said, admitting it out loud. She didn't respond. "I know you can't get her body…" the plane was heading downwards now, gaining speed. I was heading for the water. "But Peggy please make sure she gets a good tribute. Marty was brave and strong. She was more than just any woman,. She was the greatest person I ever met, and the world deserves to know the real story. Please…?" I had about thirty seconds to the collision. This was the end.

"S-Steve?"

"Yes, Peggy?"

"…I'll make sure of it."

And with my heart at ease I let the tears roll down my cheeks as the plane left the Marty-beautiful sky above and made contact with the cold, freezing water.


	26. Deleted Scene 1: Unwinding

***_Hey guys. A few things to say. No, this isn't the first chapter of the sequel. This is a "Deleted Scene" of the first one. You see, I feel like there might have been a couple of things I should have added in the first story. You know what I mean? The story was very action-filled and I wanted to add some personal scenes. _**

**_So here is the first one. This scene takes place when Marty storms out of the pub after Steve accepted Peggy's invitation to dance. She's feeling angry and jealous, but she doesn't know why. She also feels a need to do something to make Steve feel the kind of jealousy she's feeling...what will she do? I dunno, how 'bout you scroll down and find out?_**

**_P.S: The first chapter of the sequel will be out this upcoming Friday. Woo! Also, I miss you guys. Okay. See yah soon :) _**

**_(I'm not really sure how I feel about posting this, but I think it calls for interesting plot with Tony in the sequel. So...here. _**

**_-Noor xx_**

**Marty**

I stormed across the snow and away from the pub, my hands balled into fists at my side. How could he dance with Peggy? He just _left_. We were in the middle of a conversation, we were making plans, and he just brushed it off as if it was nothing. I mean, I guess it was kind of not that big of deal, but that's the reason why these feelings were confusing me so much. I was infuriated, boiling from the inside, all because Steve was back at the pub with another woman. I didn't know what people called this feeling, but I felt pissed and I felt an urge to do something, something that would make Steve feel these unexplained feelings too.

I stopped dead in my tracks, catching myself from thinking like this any further. I didn't care. Yeah, I didn't give a damn what Steve was doing with whoever he was doing it with. I stood there as the snow fell in sheets before me, and thought about it for another moment.

I did care. Damn.

"Brooks!" The voice came from out from thin air. I raised an eyebrow, looking around to see who the voice belonged to, but there was only white. I stood confusedly for moment when suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder. I spun around quickly, startled, but there was nothing to be scared of. It was just the best weapons manufacture the war's got; Howard Stark, beard and all. He wore a pair of ear muffs and handsome coat.

"Oh, good evenin', Stark." I said, taken aback by his presence. What was he doing here? "You lost?" I asked, with a soft laugh.

"No," he chuckled, "but it looks like _you _might be." He said with a charming smirk.

"No, I'm good; I was just on my way to bed actually." I said, nodding my head slowly, forcing an overworked fake yawn, "I'm tuckered out. Long day, you know…" I said, trying to find a way out of this awkward situation. I just wanted to be alone, there were so many thoughts crammed into my head; I was seconds away from exploding.

"Yeah, I can tell." Stark replied, that same smirk still on his lips. "It looks like you need to unwind. Why don't you come on over to the lab? I'll whip us up some coca. What do you say?" He said in such an inviting tone that the words 'no' and 'thanks' couldn't find their way up my throat. Hey, maybe Stark will turn out to be a good friend?

"Why not?' I said, with a defeated sigh. At least I'll have this to get my mind off of the Steve crap, whatever it was. I followed Stark across the snow covered field, his arm around my shoulder. "Where _is _your lab?" I asked, curiously as we walked.

"The Command Center, my lab is just below it." He replied, leading me towards the familiar building. Once we approached it, he reached over me and opened up the door, letting me go in first.

"Thanks," I said, and walked on in. It was pretty empty at this hour. Usually it would be buzzing with people, the sound of typewriters would be going off, and commands would be called out, but this late only a couple people sat at desks, silently doing paperwork.

"Evening," Stark greeted them as we walked past.

"Fellas," I said to them as well, but they only glanced up from their work, curious expressions on their tired faces. "Well they're chipper, aren't they?" I mumbled sarcastically to Stark.

"Beacons of optimism, I gotta say," he replied, making me giggle.

He led me to a staircase, "Watch your step," he said, going down first. I glanced over my shoulder at the men doing paperwork and gave them an awkward smile before following Stark down the staircase. "Now there's a lot of dangerous equipment down here, so be careful what you touch." He said, going further down the stairs.

"Right," I said, and followed him until the end of the staircase. At the bottom of the stairs was a door with white letters spray painted onto it that read: **LABORATORY; PLEASE BE CAUTIOUS.**

"See what I mean; Dangerous stuff?" Stark said almost teasingly.

I couldn't help but smile. I crossed my arms over my tightly wrapped chest, "If it's _so_ dangerous then why are you bringing me down here anyways?" I asked.

He shrugged, "Sometimes it's fun to be a little dangerous."

And I couldn't have agreed more with him.

Stark opened the door, walking into the dark lab first. I walked up to the door and suddenly found myself hesitating at the threshold. Maybe this was a bad idea? Maybe I should just go back to the bunk and get some rest? Just as I was about to come up with more reasons to turn back and ascend the stairs, Stark switched on the light.

"You comin'?" He asked, sticking his head out the door, giving me a white smile.

"I…" I began. I was about to come up with another excuse to leave, but the look on Stark's face was far too engaging. There was this certain charisma about him, and before I knew it I was stepping into the lab. "Holy…" was the only word that could describe my feelings. My eyes were wide with amazement. The lab was full of strange yet wonderful technology I had never seen before, blueprints, little nuts and bolts. There were so many things; they were spread over about five tables.

"Pretty neat, huh?" He said, leaning against one of the walls, his arms over his chest.

"You can say that again," I said, walking around the room, trying to refrain from touching the tech. It looked so incredible and complex, "I've never seen anything like this before…. Hey what's this?" I said, referring to a tiny little metal ball that was lying on one of the tables. It was a bit smaller than a golf ball and had a single little red light on the top. I took the metal ball in my palm and rolled it around as Stark walked over to me.

"That, my friend, is a state of the art _killing machine_," he said casually, leaning against the table.

I snickered, "This tiny little thing?" I questioned in disbelief, looking down at the ball.

"Sure," He said, standing up straight. "You see this red light up here?" He said, placing his finger on it.

"Mhm, what about it?"

"It's also a button. You push it and the light starts to flash. When that happens it's best you throw this thing as far as it can go, or you're gonna get blown to bits; it's got the power of at least five grenades."

"Seriously…?" I asked in amazement, looking up into his brown eyes. It was only then that I realized how close they were actually were. Stark and I were less than a foot away from each other, we were practically touching.

"Seriously." He replied, and then looked down, locking gazes with me. I never really noticed it before, but Stark was a really good looking guy; he had a movie star smile and was practically a genius. His lips curled up into a sly smirk. No wonder girls were all over him… "It's only a prototype, though." That's when his hand found its way into mine; he took the metal ball in his grasp. "Didn't I tell you not to touch anything?" He said almost flirtatiously, cocking his head to the side.

"Sorry, I was just being a little dangerous," I replied, my tone unintentionally matching up with the whole playful thing.

"Fine, I'll let you off the hook this one time," He said, moving in closer, though it seemed as if it was impossible to move any closer than he already was. I could see him open his mouth to speak, but I stopped him, catching myself before things got too far. What the hell was I doing flirting with him? This was going to blow my cover.

"Damn," I mumbled, taking a couple steps back a little too quickly and nearly fell over the leg of the table. "I am getting really tired, Stark. Thanks for showing me your lab, neat stuff. Yup…" I said quickly, and turned around on my heels, heading for the door.

"It must be hard for you. You know, trying to keep your cover for so long. Impressive, I gotta say, but still, pretty frustrating, huh?"

I stopped dead in my tracks; the breath was knocked out of me as if I had just been punched in the gut. Did I hear that right? I turned around to face the inventor, my throat dry. "What cover?" I asked as  
casually as I could, hoping I could still save myself.

"Come on _Joey_. I know a woman when I see one, trust me. I gotta say, though, you've got moxie coming out here. So, tell me what's you real name?" He said, walking up to me once more. "Jennifer, Clair, Rebecca – gosh, I love that name." He said, that god damn smirk never leaving his face. I stood completely silent, my heart rate accelerating dangerously. I closed the door; this was not going to happen, not today.

I released a deep sigh, "You can't turn me in. I won't let you." I said, firmly, standing my ground.

"Whoa, relax, relax, I'm not gonna turn you in. It's not the kind of man I am." He said, chuckling.

"How do I know I can trust you?" I said, folding my arms over my chest.

"You don't know for sure, you see, but you'll have to give me a chance to find out." He said, making a good point. "Plus, you don't really have a choice so…."

I shook my head, running a hand through my hair, trying to calm down. I really didn't have any other choice. "Fine…thanks." I said, quietly. I turned around and walked over to the door, ready to leave and just be alone for the rest of the night, but Stark had other plans. He rushed over to me, planting himself in front of the door.

"Hey, you don't have to leave. I still think you seem a little stressed, am I right?" He asked quietly.

"No, I'm fine; it's just been a long day. Now, if you'll excuse me…." I said, reaching for the doorknob, but Stark was persistent, and he blocked the way.

"You need to unwind," he repeated with another charming smile. "Listen, I'm the only person you're gonna find that understands a lovely woman like yourself. So, again, you don't really have a choice…"

"I always have a choice." I said, sternly, trying to grab the doorknob again. He was starting to piss me off now.

"Then choose me." He said, determined.

"I'm _choosing _to leave, and if you don't move in the next 5 seconds I'm going to _choose_ to fracture your jaw." I threatened, fed up. He stared at me for a moment with a single dark eyebrow raised, waiting to see if I would change my mind, but his charm wasn't going to get to me this time. I just glared at him, waiting for him to give up.

"Fine, fine…" he finally sighed in defeat, stepping away from the door and opening it for me.

"Good choice. Goodnight Stark." I said, and without taking a look back I began to make my way back up the stairs. I was halfway through when Stark called out his final attempt to get me to stay.

"We never did get that coco, though!" He called after me.

I froze in my place. I could've just kept going, gone to my bunk, flopped down on my bed, close my eyes, and pretended this night never happened, but then I remembered the sight of Peggy and Steve walking hand in hand to the dance floor, her flashy red dress catching the eye of every man in that pub, making them drool, and that unexplainable and frustrating anger dangerously began to burn again. There was still that something I had to do, that I had to do to make Steve feel like this too.

Not giving myself a chance to change my mind, I turned around, marched right back into the lab, and did something extremely stupid yet strangely satisfying. I grabbed hold of Stark's white button down shirt, pulled him centimeters away from my face, and pressed my lips roughly to his.

He seemed taken aback, pulling away for a second, "Whoa, what are we doing here?" he asked breathlessly.

"Unwinding?" I suggested. Stark stood silently for a moment, his eyes looking me up and down before he just shrugged and rejoined our lips.

I don't know why I was doing this, but it felt good for some reason. Not because Stark was skilled with his…tongue (Man up kid, this story isn't rated "T" for nothing), but because in a way I felt like I was getting back at Steve for whatever it was I needed to get back at him for. I was so confused, so lost up in my mind. So, I decided to just block out every thought I had at the moment and just focus on relaxing…I guess.

Stark wasn't holding back, he pushed me gently up against the door, causing it to shut, and I heard the unmistakable sound of the door lock.

"Why are you locking the door?" I asked curiously, pulling away.

"I'm keeping your cover. It'd be kind of awkward if someone was to walk in and find me making out with a guy, am I right?" He said, giving me that signature smirk.

"I guess," I said as his hands migrated down to my waist. He pulled me in closer, making me go dizzy as he kissed me deeply; he had definitely done this before. We kissed for a few short moments, but it seemed like Stark's lips were bored of my mouth. Because now he was kissing me at my jaw and he only went lower and lower…

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Ace." I warned him, even though I wouldn't really mind if he kept going; it felt good.

He pulled away, and looked back up at me, "Me, get ahead of myself? Never," but his hands were now at my shirt buttons and he wasn't wasting any time

"Right," I said unconvinced as I forced back a smile. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him, pressing my lips to his once again.

"Mm…" He said, pulling away, "So what _is_ your name?"

I kissed his lips before answering his question, "Marty."

"No Rebecca?" He joked before I could kiss him again.

"Uh-uh…" I mumbled, our lips still joined, but he pulled his lips away again.

"Isn't that a boy's name?" he asked, then he took his hand and began leading me to one of the tables.

"Point?"

"No point. It is a bit ironic, though. Don't you think?"

"Seriously, do you ever shut up, Stark?" I said, sitting up on the table.

"Do you want me to?" He asked, leaning in.

"Yes." I said, unbuttoning the few top buttons on his shirt.

"Whoa, don't get ahead of yourself, Ace." He mocked, looking down at my hands.

"Shut. Up." I said, smiling up at him.

"You're gonna have to make me shu-."

And so I kissed him again, feeling his fingers run through my hair this time. He began moving in closer, making me lean back onto the table, his hands moving from my waist down to my thighs. I tried to make room, absentmindedly moving around a few things on the table, but I guess I made a wrong move.

I opened up my eyes just a peek to see what I was doing; my heart stopped. Because right in front of me was that tiny metal ball, the red light flashing now, and it rolled right off the table.

"Stark!" I gasped, pushing him off me.

"What? What?" He said, frantically looking left to right to see what the problem was. Then his eyes met the floor, and his eyes grew wider than his ego. "Oh boy…"

_Boom!_

We were thrown right off the table as if we were feather-weight. There was flying glass and tech everywhere. Our backs hit the tile floor and the breath was stolen from out lungs. We lay there, regaining composure. I slowly sat up, propping myself up on my elbow. "That didn't feel like five grenades."

Stark shook his head, looking very taken aback. He slowly sat up beside me. "I told you, it's just a prototype."

I released a deep breath, resting my head on the wall.

"You should really come over for coco more often."

I was right; Stark was going to make a great friend.


	27. Lady America 2: WWIII

**Hey guys! This isn't a chapter as you can probably tell by the non-existent story beneath this author's note. I just wanna say that the sequel of Lady America is up. It's called _Lady America 2: WWIII_ and I'm on chapter 3! I just thought that maybe some of you might not have known because you didn't follow me or favorite me or whatever. Haha, so yeah, you should go read it and tell me what you think. Thanks, love you dudes. **

**-Noor xx**


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